Frontier Communications Chairman and CEO Maggie Wilderotter announced the company has joined other leading American companies to focus hiring efforts on the nation's long-term unemployed, an issue highlighted by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address.

Wilderotter made the announcement following a White House meeting hosted Friday by the president.

"Those who have been unemployed the longest have experienced greater difficulty returning to the workforce during the current economic recovery," Wilderotter said. "Statistics validate that these potential workers have more experience and education than applicants who are hired quickly after losing a position."

She said Frontier is committed to adopting and building upon best practices that will expedite the return to the workforce of those who have been unemployed for a year or more.

"Frontier is a 100 percent U.S.-based workforce and we serve many communities where our customers, friends and neighbors have remained unemployed for extended periods," Wilderotter added. "We look for attitude, behavior and experience as our hiring criteria; we also partner with community colleges and other higher education schools to train new workers on our technology. We look forward to working with Vice President Biden, Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and Secretary of Labor Tom Perez on this important initiative."

The best practices Frontier plans to put into effect include public-private partnerships to retrain workers and earmark jobs for those out of work for a long period of time, and internships to give potential workers on-the-job experience. Frontier has reviewed its screening procedures so they do not disadvantage individuals from being considered for a job based solely on their unemployment status.

Frontier's commitment to the long-term unemployed complements the company's support of hiring military veterans, reservists and their spouses. More than 11 percent of Frontier's employees are military veterans and reservists and the company was named a "Top 100" 2014 Military Friendly Employer. Its strong military recruitment program for transitioning service members and spouses seeking civilian employment offers best practices that can be adapted to target the hiring of the long term unemployed.