The Great Recession of 2011 has produced millions of tragedies.

They are written in the faces of good people who would be gainfully employed if not for business and economic circumstances beyond their control.

There’s always a certain amount of employment churn, even in a good economy. People lose one job and find another. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, or maybe even a few months, to land a new position.

But not since the Great Depression have so many people found themselves out of work for such extended periods.

For some, the weeks and months have stretched into years of fruitless searching while their savings, homes and middle-class lives have gradually slipped away.

The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that 4.5 million Americans have been unemployed for more than a year. In this economy, it takes the average unemployed worker 40 weeks to find a new job.

That’s tragic, but a law proposed by President Barack Obama would do nothing to solve the problem while likely subjecting employers to a barrage of expensive lawsuits.

Obama’s jobs bill would bar employers from discriminating against job applicants because they are already unemployed.

The issue recently gained national attention when it was revealed that some employers have started specifying in help-wanted ads that only people who currently have jobs may apply.

The ads reflect two common misperceptions held by some employers.

First, that unemployed people have mainly themselves to blame for being unemployed. They feel employers must have carefully weeded out their least productive employees as they downscaled, and that the unemployed are the least-qualified workers available.

Second, that unemployed people may have lost skills while unemployed as the technology moved forward.

As wise employers surely realize, every job applicant brings a unique story and work history to a job interview. Uncovering that story is the key to finding the best employee for the job.

Some truly excellent people have simply had the misfortune of working in a down industry or for an employer that found itself over-extended just as the recession hit.

What’s more, some unemployed people may have availed themselves of training opportunities while jobless, and may actually have better skills than people moving from one job to another.

Then there’s the big factor — motivation. A person who has been sitting on the sidelines for a time may be a ball of fire when they finally do land a job. They are likely to work harder, longer and more diligently than someone who is less grateful for the opportunity.

Overlooking these people is shortsighted.

The law already protects employees from discrimination based upon race, sex, color, religion and national origin.

Obama’s proposed law would create another protected class of workers, people without jobs.

Examining an employee’s work history is certainly critical information for any employer. Most need to know where an applicant has worked, their responsibilities and the duration of their employment there.

That an applicant is unemployed quickly becomes apparent in any job interview.

Unemployed workers should be ready to sell themselves, to explain the circumstances of their unemployment and to show how they have turned it to their advantage.

Nearly all employers want only one thing — the best person for the job.

Creating another avenue for workplace litigation isn’t going to benefit anything except the legal profession.

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The opinions expressed in this column reflect the views of the ownership and editorial board.