Context: Recently, Jharkhand Assembly passed a Bill, The Jharkhand State Employment of Local Candidates in Private Sector Bill, 2021.
Key Provisions of the bill

• Reservation for Local Candidates: The Bill provides for 75% reservation to local residents in private sector jobs with monthly salaries up to Rs 40,000.
• Definition of Private Sector: The bill treats shops, establishments, mines, enterprises, industries, companies, societies, trusts, Limited Liability Partnership firms and any person employing 10 or more people in the private sector as an entity.
• Designated Portal: The Bill says that employers need to register themselves on a designated portal about employees who are receiving a gross monthly salary or wages not more than Rs 40,000 within three months after the Bill is enacted.
• Definition of Local Candidate: The Bill defines a local candidate as a person who belongs to Jharkhand and is registered on the designated portal.

Significance of the bill

• Once enacted,  Jharkhand will become the third state — after Andhra Pradesh and Haryana — having a law providing for reservation in private sector jobs for local residents.

Constitutional Provisions related to reservations in employment:-

• The constitution under Article 16 and Article 371 mentions the Reservation in jobs.

Under Article 16, there were 3 sub-clauses dealing with the job reservation. They are,

• 16(1): It provides for equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to ’employment or appointment’ to any office under the State.
• 16(2): It provides that there cannot be any discrimination on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or any of them.
• 16(3): It provides an exception by saying that Parliament may make a law “prescribing” a requirement of residence for jobs in a particular state. This power vests solely in the Parliament, not state legislatures.

Article 371: Some states have special protections under Article 371. Andhra Pradesh under Section 371(d) has powers to have “direct recruitment of local cadre” in specified areas.