Q&A: Preference in Hiring Employees
Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.
Preference in Hiring Employees
Question
Suppose I am an employer hiring workers.
Is there a moral problem with preferring people who are closer to me, whether that is an actual personal closeness or only an ideological closeness?
- A family member or friend
- A neighbor in my city
- Someone from my sector/community (religious, Haredi, secular, maybe Ethiopian)
- Someone of my nationality/people (Jewish)
- A fellow citizen of my country (Israeli)
Answer
At first glance, it does not seem that there is a problem. On the other hand, a government should ensure equal opportunity, and it makes sense for it to forbid this. Therefore, seemingly, according to the categorical imperative, I too ought to act that way myself. And still, I think there is logic in taking care of the closest circle first (see columns 188 and 51). All this, of course, depends on how necessary it is for my relative or close associate as opposed to the other person.