Jobs for Felons: Trump wants to give ex-cons a fresh start

Jobs for Felons: Trump wants to give ex-cons a fresh start

President Trump's State of the Union address highlights that being tough on crime is
perfectly  compatible with wanting individuals with records to find work and become
independent instead of falling into government dependency. 

by Jared Meyer, Washington Examiner

In his 2018 State of the Union address, President Trump said that “we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a second chance.”

This sentiment directly follows what Trump promised during his inaugural address, that “we will get our people off of welfare and back to work.” People coming out of incarceration face two distinct paths—they can either find a job, or they will fall into government dependency. Beyond being the main predictor of whether someone is living in poverty, not having a job is the clearest indicator of how likely someone is to re-offend.

Yet one year after their release from incarceration, between 60 percent and 75 percent of ex-offenders remain unemployed. Rather than promoting rehabilitation and independence, states across the country severely limit the work prospects of ex-offenders through occupational licensing laws.

Most states have little oversight over how licensing agencies can treat those with criminal records, meaning agencies can consider old convictions or convictions that are unrelated to the occupation. Even worse, boards can require that applicants meet vague standards such as having “good character” or not showing “moral turpitude.” These unclear requirements give licensing boards broad discretion to prevent ex-offenders from getting work.

With the devastating opioid crisis leaving tens of thousands of individuals across the country with records, vague standards that allow boards to judge applicants’ character can serve as a major obstacle for those recovering from addiction who are seeking work in licensed occupations. Because work is a core component of recovery and has the largest positive effect of any indicator on overcoming drug addiction, states should be promoting work for these individuals, not adding barriers to recovery.

Given that there are 2.3 million people incarcerated in America—at least 95 percent of whom, or 600,000 people each year, will re-enter the general population at some point—excessive licensing regulations for those with records pose a major problem to people like Texas resident Christopher Owen.

After finding work at a home security company, Owen was denied a fire alarm installer license because of a felony burglary on his record. His offense? He had stolen a $5 pair of socks from a Goodwill drop-off trailer in 2014. This incident happened right after Owen’s home had burned down and his mother had passed away. In a brief period, he had gone from owning his own oil and gas company to being homeless. Yet none of these mitigating circumstances were considered by the Texas Department of Public Safety. A crime of $5 cost Owen a career.

There are countless other stories similar to Owen’s—each more unbelievable than the last. Perhaps the least-defensible example of overreach from licensing authorities can be found in Calvert County, Md., where a misdemeanor or a felony can automatically disqualify someone from working as a licensed fortune-teller. Many of these licensing restrictions have nothing to do with protecting public safety. And paradoxically, research has shown that broad licensing restrictions against ex-offenders endanger the public more than they protect it.

Thankfully, states are acting to lower the barriers faced by those with records. Florida State Sen. Jeff Brandes and State Rep. Scott Plakon (both Republicans) introduced a bill that would allow those in prison to apply for licenses before their release date. The reform also allows those with records to petition licensing boards to ensure that they will be approved before they invest substantial amounts of time completing government-required training. And boards for certain occupations will no longer be able to consider convictions from more than five years ago, which will no doubt help the thousands of people recovering from opioid addictions and related offenses move on from their pasts.

In Nebraska, State Sen. Laura Ebke (a Libertarian) introduced a comprehensive licensing reform bill making clear that criminal histories alone should not disqualify people from work. If this bill becomes law, Nebraska boards will no longer be allowed to consider offenses that are unrelated to safely working in a licensed occupation. This highlights another kind of overreach where licensing boards impose blanket bans, which are occupational bans for any kind of felony or misdemeanor, even when the offense is unrelated to the job. One example of this can be found in Nebraska, where those with any criminal record can be denied a massage therapy license. Similar bills to get rid of blanket bans are moving through the legislatures in Wisconsin, the District of Columbia, and New Hampshire.

President Trump’s State of the Union address highlights that being tough on crime is perfectly compatible with wanting individuals with records to find work and become independent instead of falling into government dependency, whether through welfare or re-incarceration. Work keeps ex-offenders out of poverty, allows them to gain valuable skills and experience, moves them off welfare, and helps them avoid reoffending—those are more than enough reasons for states to give them a chance at a fresh start.

Jared Meyer (@JaredMeyer10) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner's Beltway Confidential blog. He is a senior research fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability.

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Jobs for Felons: Trump wants to give ex-cons a fresh start

Eric Mayo

More Firms Willing To Employ Felons

More Firms Willing To Employ Felons

Ian Black laughs at the jokes of his boss, Ron Nelsen, at Pioneer Overhead Door in Las Vegas

.MUST CREDIT: Washington Post photo by Jahi Chikwendiu.

By Heather Long
The Washington Post


Ron Nelsen has been in the garage door business since 1976. He can’t recall a time when it’s been this difficult to find workers for his family business, Pioneer Overhead Door in Las Vegas.

When his assistant handed him Ian Black’s resume in April, it seemed like a godsend. Black had more than a decade of experience.

Then Nelsen noticed that all of Black’s recent jobs were at a state prison.

Black is an inmate at Casa Grande, a work-release facility that’s a seven-minute walk from Pioneer Overheard Door. Nelsen knew the place well. He and other business owners in the industrial neighborhood had protested Casa Grande’s arrivalin 2005.

But now his business was booming, and Nelsen needed workers who knew what they were doing. He decided to interview the inmate.


“Ian did well in the interview. He was articulate and respectful, and he told me he’d been an idiot when he was younger,” Nelsen said. Even so, Nelsen said, “I was still apprehensive.”

America’s unemployment rate is at a 17-year low — at 4.1 percent — and JPMorgan predicts it could fall to 3.4 percent this year, the lowest level since the 1969. Businesses large and small complain they can’t find workers, especially ones willing to do the arduous labor of landscaping, construction or stocking shelves. Companies have traditionally sought out immigrant labor to fill some of these jobs, but the Trump administration is aggressively going after businesses that use undocumented immigrants. In this political and economic environment, big companies like Walmart and Koch Industries and smaller ones like Pioneer Overhead Door are turning to an underutilized source of labor: inmates and the formerly incarcerated.

It’s a large, mostly untapped pool of workers: Roughly 20 million Americans have been convicted of a felony, according to research by University of Georgia Professor Sarah Shannon and her colleagues.

But even if the need for workers is great and attitudes are shifting, it’s not an easy decision. On his desk in a big warehouse a few blocks from the Las Vegas Strip, Nelsen has statues of saints and the Virgin Mary. A practicing Catholic, he asked friends whether he should hire a Casa Grande inmate. Almost everyone said yes, he should offer a chance of redemption. Among fellow business owners, opinions were mixed.

Nelsen has five workers who hang the garage doors at homes and commercial facilities such as warehouses and carwashes. It was a big risk, some said, to take on someone who has been convicted six times for nonviolent burglaries. Nelsen’s wife urged him to take a chance. So he offered Black a job, and Black, who has been in prison for the past nine years, accepted quickly, saying it gave him a “sense of purpose” for the first time in decades.

Black spends his nights locked in a cell, but on weekdays, he wears a dark gray Pioneer Overhead Door uniform with his name on it. Customers don’t know about his past. They only see the quality of the work now. “He’s my best worker,” Nelsen said. “Out of all my technicians, he’s the one I wouldn’t want to lose.”

Some companies ask job applicants immediately if they have ever been convicted of a crime to screen them out, but the ACLU and the NAACP say they have seen a “change of heart” in the past year, with more businesses willing to take a chance on people with criminal histories. “Businesses are beginning to ask: Why did we have such stringent bans?” says Ngozi Ndulue, senior director of criminal justice programs at the NAACP.

Increasingly, business leaders see hiring people with criminal records as the right thing to do for America — and for their companies. Formerly incarcerated workers are often hard-working and loyal, and not looking to jump to another employer. “We’ve hired a lot of people with criminal records who have been good employees,” said Mark Holden, general counsel at Koch Industries. “What someone did on their worst day doesn’t define them forever.”

Black credits Nevada’s work-release program with breaking his “prison mind-set.” He had been in prison twice before for shorter stints that he says didn’t change him. He was released in 2008 with $25 to his name. With no money and few prospects, he went right back to what he knew before, the world of crime and drugs. Within two months, he was caught stealing again.

“I grew up in a very cliche childhood: Broken home. My mom passed away when I was young, and I bounced around a lot. I cared about nothing,” Black says. “I was a career criminal. It took a devastating amount of prison time for me to rethink my position in this world.”

Black has now spent nearly a decade in prison, staying clean from drugs and learning how to be “more thankful” and “not so judgmental.” He meditates and draws in the evenings. When he turned 40, he joined the prison squad that fights wildfires. A year later, he was able to apply for Casa Grande and get into a job orientation class called Turning Point. “I want to be able to look myself in the mirror. I want to be respectable,” Black, now 42, says.

Most of the money he earns goes to pay restitution to people he stole from and to the state of Nevada to cover rent at Casa Grande. But he has saved about $700, which he believes will be life-changing when he gets out of prison.

Black is among the 2.3 million Americans behind bars, about 95 percent of whom will be released. Finding better ways to get people from prison into jobs is a cause that has united conservatives, especially religious and business leaders, with progressives. It has even made it onto President Trump’s agenda.

“Many prisoners end up returning to crime, and they end up returning to prison,” Trump said at a White House event this month on prison reform. “We can help break this vicious cycle through job training.”

Only 45 percent of men released from prison had a job eight months later, according to a 2008 study by the Urban Institute’s Justice Policy Center. There’s a major push to change that now that the economy is far better than it was a decade ago. Some of the most outspoken advocates are conservative power brokers like the Koch brothers and Clay Bennett, owner of the Oklahoma Thunder basketball team. Last summer, Bennett invited ACLU fellow Megan Marcelin to speak to a large gathering of Oklahoma business executives to make the case for hiring people with criminal pasts. She found a receptive audience.

“This would never have happened a year ago,” says Marcelin, who is now with JustLeadershipUSA, a criminal justice reform advocacy group. “Businesses and corporations on the right are really playing a role in getting behind this issue.”

Many conservatives, including Trump, see prison-to-job initiatives as part of a larger goal of reducing prison and welfare costs and lowering unemployment.

Walmart and Koch Industries no longer ask about criminal histories on their job applications. That small step has given many more people a chance to get in front of a hiring manager. Walmart and Koch don’t do a full background check until the final stages of the hiring process, when they already have a sense of an applicant.

This is part of a broader movement known as “ban the box,” a reference to removing the check-box question on applications.

President Barack Obama banned the box for most federal government jobs. A grass-roots movement has advocated for changes in state laws as well. “It’s common sense: We want former prisoners to be able to support themselves,” says Beth Avery, a staff attorney at the National Employment Law Project. “That’s good for everyone in the long run. It reduces recidivism and public spending on incarceration.”

The federal government doesn’t track how many people with criminal histories have been hired across the country. But studies of cities such as Minneapolis that have banned the box found that more than 50 percent of people whose applications had been flagged with “concern” because of a prior conviction were hired after the law changed.

Nelsen says he’s become more aware of what these reforms can do for society — and for businesses.

“I was originally negative on Casa Grande,” Nelson said. “Now I’m one of the biggest beneficiaries of it.”

The ACLU and Koch Industries are also pushing for people with criminal pasts to be able to get state licenses to do everything from plumbing to being makeup artists to being security guards. Nearly 30 percent of U.S. jobs require a state license, according to the Brookings Institution, but some states prevent felons from getting licenses.

Another hurdle that remains is racial prejudice. Studies have found it’s twice as easy for white inmates and formerly incarcerated Caucasians to get jobs than for African Americans. Research by economists at the University of Virginia and the University of Oregon last year found that banning the box caused some employers to discriminate against African Americans and Latinos because hiring managers made assumptions about who was more likely to have a criminal record.

Black feels lucky to be working again and is preparing for a parole hearing in February. He has been mentoring a 20-year-old named Eric Fernandez, who recently joined Pioneer Overhead Door. Black showed him what tools to buy and taught him all the different types of garage door springs. In exchange, Fernandez drives the truck, since Black can’t get his driver’s license back yet.

What’s it like to be working with Black? Fernandez shrugs, signaling he hasn’t given it much thought.

“He’s pretty funny,” Fernandez says. He looks over at Black and they laugh in unison, pausing for a few seconds in the Las Vegas heat before getting back to work.

More Firms Willing To Employ Felons

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Eric Mayo felons

Jobs for Felons: Training programs give ex-prisoners a chance at landing a job

Jobs for Felons: Ex-felons face rough job prospects

Michael Harrington -Sandusky Register 

When four ex-offenders lost their jobs at a local Burger King, the area lost one of just a few felon-friendly employers.

One local business still willing to give felons a chance is Manny’s Car Wash on Cleveland Road. The car wash’s owner, Manny Jeffries, knows what many ex-convicts are going through having been through it himself.

Jeffries turned his life around and now owns two car washes: one on Cleveland Road in Sandusky and another on Justice Street in Fremont. He wants to help others do the same.

“Everybody deserves to get up and get another shot at life,” Jeffries said. Unfortunately, that second chance is denied to many felons looking for jobs elsewhere.

Research suggests that employment is an important aspect in ensuring ex-offenders don’t become repeat offenders. And employment is an important part of most ex-convicts’ re-entry into society.

“Barriers to employment are among the most counterproductive collateral sanctions that stem from criminal convictions. The inability to find employment hinders successful re-entry into communities,” said Jocelyn Rosnick, the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio’s assistant policy director.

A National Institute of Justice study found at least 60 percent of ex-offenders are still unemployed a year after release, and ex-offenders are half as likely to get a call back from a prospective employer. And one in six Ohioans has a misdemeanor or felony conviction, according to Rosnick.

Even though excluding ex-convicts limits a large portion of the workforce, employers still seem hesitant to hire people with criminal backgrounds and most that do, have stipulations.

“The things that’s critical is some places will hire felons, but it depends on how long ago it was and how it relates to the job they are applying for,” said Karen Balconi Ghezzi, the director of Erie County Jobs and Family Services.

When employees with a criminal record reapplied to a Burger King on U.S. 250 (Milan Road) they found out the new owner, TOMS King, had a different hiring policy.

It turned them down because their past crimes showed something the company believed would make them ill-suited for the job.

But a movement has started to stop punishing ex-convicts for crimes they’ve already served time for and to start seeing them as possible employees.

“It’s important that employers recognize that anyone with a felony conviction should be looked at as a potential employee if there is evidence they have changed their way of life and they’re unlikely to recommit a crime,” Ghezzi said.

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, has introduced the Fair Chance Act in Congress that would ban the question on job applications asking if job-seekers have prior criminal convictions.

“Once people have served their time, they shouldn’t be blocked from earning a living,” Brown said.

The bill has bipartisan support and could usher in changes to how employers are allowed to request criminal history backgrounds from applicants.

Employer bias isn’t the only thing preventing ex-convicts from employment. Collateral sanctions, or legal penalties and disabilities unrelated to the initial offense, given to released prison inmates make it difficult for many ex-offenders to maintain a job once they have it.

A prime example of this is driving license suspensions that make it difficult for many ex-felons to make it to work on time.

“Taking away a person’s ability to drive – to get to and from work or to go out and apply for jobs – makes it even harder for people to get back on their feet,” Rosnick said. “It is imperative that we provide the necessary tools for formerly incarcerated people to rebuild their lives and support their families.”

Jobs for Felons: Ex-felons face rough job prospects

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Ten Steps to getting a Job with a Criminal record

Jobs for Felons: Trucking Jobs for Felons

Jobs for Felons: Training programs give ex-prisoners a chance at landing a job

Companies Hire Felons | Companies That Hire Felons | Companies That Hire Ex-offenders | Employers That Hire Ex-offenders | Employers That Hire Felons | Jobs For Felons | Jobs For Ex-offenders | Jobs That Hire Felons | Places That Hire Felons | Felon Friendly Jobs | Felon Friendly Employers | Jobs for Felons | Jobs For People That Have Felonies | Jobs For People With A Criminal Record 

Eric Mayo

Why can't I get a Job with my Conviction?

Why can't I get a Job with my Conviction?

I have been reading your blog for a while.  I applied to some of your some of the employers on your list but I have not been contacted by any one of them.  My cousin works at one of them.  She has a record too.  Why can she get a job and I can't?  What can I do?


Kathryn from Marietta, GA

Why can't I get a Job with my Conviction?

Hello Kathryn,

I'm sorry you are having so much trouble finding a job.  Regarding our List of Companies that Hire Felons, many people are confused by this list.  The employers on the list will not hire you just because you are a felon.  These employers hire a felon if he or she is the best person for the job.

I have been working with felons for a long time and I find that the most difficult felon to help get hired are those with any type of sex offense.  Plain and simple, most employers want nothing to do with sex offenders.  Their best opportunities to get hired is to apply for jobs that have limited contact with people. Unfortunately, most sex offenders cannot work anywhere near schools, parks or anywhere there are children.  This makes things a lot more difficult for them

The next most difficult group, are those with any type of what I call integrity crimes.  Those with any type of theft, robbery, forgery, identity theft, fraud and similar convictions have a difficult time.  They have little opportunity for retail jobs or any jobs that require trust of any kind.

The third most difficult convictions to work with are violent crimes.  Applicants with any type of assault or weapons convictions are a concern to employers and they are often avoided.  Once again, those with any type of violent crimes may have more success applying for jobs that require minimal contact with other people.

I don't know what your conviction(s) or what types of jobs you have been applying for, but I hope this sheds some light on your situation.

Finding a job is not an exact science.  People without criminal records don't always get jobs they apply for.  The best advice I can give you is to apply for every job you feel qualified for.  The more jobs you apply for, the greater opportunities you will have to get interviews.  The more interviews you get, the more opportunities you will have to get a job

Best of luck to you.

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Where Ex-offenders and Felons Can Find Jobs

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Ten Steps to getting a Job with a Criminal record

Companies Hire Felons | Companies That Hire Felons | Companies That Hire Ex-offenders | Employers That Hire Ex-offenders | Employers That Hire Felons | Jobs For Felons | Jobs For Ex-offenders | Jobs That Hire Felons | Places That Hire Felons | Felon Friendly Jobs | Felon Friendly Employers | Jobs for Felons | Jobs For People That Have Felonies | Jobs For People With A Criminal Record | Felons can get Jobs

Why can't I get a Job with my Conviction?

Eric Mayo

Felon Has a Job but wants a Nursing Career

Felon Has a Job but wants a Nursing Career

Nursing Careers for Felons

Good morning and to whomever it may concern.

My name is Lucien, I'm 40 yrs old and I'm a felon. In the year 2008 I was charge with corporal injury spouse and another person. I sadly walked into a moment of infidelity occurring in my home late night after a long week gone from home over the road truck driving. You can imagine what transpired after. Served 3.5 years, 1.5 yr parole and I obtained a divorce and left California.

I've been trouble free since my release in 2010 and kept working as a truck driver but I'm exhausted of this career. I'm interested in becoming a Nurse but I see and read so many stories of rejection that I become discouraged and continue my miserable unhappy life of truck driving. Websites are just so full of misleading information and discriminatory rejection.

What can I do and how do i go about pursuing the Nurse career In Nebraska and what steps should I take in becoming accepted and certified without the discriminatory rejection I normally encounter?

Please share some ideas, I sincerely appreciate your time and effort in reading this..... 

Sincerely, 

Lucien

Felon Has a Job but wants a Nursing Career

Hello Lucien,

That's quite a story.  I have students who are truck drivers and I know from them that drive long haul is difficult work.  As far as becoming a nurse,  I would first contact the the medical board in your state to see if you can be licensed with your conviction.

Secondly, if you cannot be licensed as a nurse, but you may be able to be licensed or certified as a Nurses Assistant or Medical Assistant.

Thirdly, if you can get licensed or certified with your conviction you will require training.  There are many career schools out there that train for medical careers.  Before you decide on a career school, ask to see their placement record.  Find out how many of their graduates get placed from every class and where.

I hope this helps.

Jobs for Felons: Careers in Healthcare

Jobs for Felons: High Paying Jobs you can get with a Two Year Degree

Felon has a Job but wants a Nursing Career

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Eric Mayo

Felon wants Job with an Airline

 Felon wants Job with an Airline

Initiative to get ex-offenders back to work soars through the Senate

Hello

My husband was convicted of a felony 10 yrs ago. He just recently received an associates degree as well as his FCC and A&P licenses to become an avionics technician. I have been kind of resistant towards his degree path because it seems like such a restricted field for someone with a felony. I noticed you had a couple airlines listed on your list of people who hire felons. Do you think he has a chance with these companies to become a technician? Also, do you know anything about getting felonies removed from your record?

 Felon wants Job with an Airline

We do list airline on our list of companies that hire ex-offenders and felons.  The nature of the conviction in relation to the position applied for will come into play.  My suggestion is to apply to airlines using well written cover letters introducing the prospective employee's resume and the position desired.  Hopefully one will get an interview where he can meet someone with the power to make a decision.  At sometime during this process, the issue of the criminal record will come up and can be discussed.

As far as having felonies removed,  many people are a little confused when it comes to this issue no one can remove a criminal conviction.  The most that one can hope for is to have it removed from public view.  Many lawyers will advertise that they can erase criminal records.  Through processes like sealing or expungement they can get them hidden, but they will always be available to the court system, law enforcement and government agencies.  My suggestion to your husband is save himself a ton of money by contacting your local legal aid office.  Legal aid offices are usually staffed with young, hungry attorneys who are willing to work hard to get things done.  Statutes governing sealing and expungement of criminal records vary from state to state.  Legal aid will be able to tell him what options he has and what the impact will be on his record.  He may qualify for free or low-cost assistance.

I hope this helps.

Jobs for felons: Employment Background Checks: Know Your Rights

Jobs for felons: Expungement - A Way to Erase Your Criminal Record

This Book Has Helped Thousands of Felons Get Jobs ! You can get a copy of this book for as little as $5.00 Click Here!

 Felon wants Job with an Airline

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Eric Mayo

Felon wants Job as Flight Attendant

 Felon wants Job as Flight Attendant

Hello sir,

I was reading your list of companies that hire felons, and noticed that there were airlines listed.  I wanted to ask you about a person with a criminal record becoming a flight attendant.  I have a lot of customer service experience and people like me.  It seems like a good job for a young person like me.  Do you know anything about that?

I have a shoplifting charge.  I hope having one charge won't keep me from having a good career career.

Dara

Felon wants Job as Flight Attendant

Hello Dara,

I know of people with criminal records working for airlines.  Many people believe that having a record prevents anyone from working at an airline and that is not true.  The job applied for and the nature of the criminal offense will always be taken in account.

My suggestion to you, is to contact the airline you were thinking of applying to and speak to the human resources department.  That department will be able to tell you if your conviction will prohibit you from being hired in that position.  If not, you can find out what the exact qualifications for the positions are and exactly how to apply.  Remind the Human Resources representative that you can be bonded.  See this post about the Federal Bonding Program here:

Federal Bonding Program can help felon get a job

 Eric Mayo

 Jobs for Felons: Know your Right Regarding Background Checks

Jobs for Felons:  The Truth about Background Checks

 

Felon wants Job as Flight Attendant

Ex-Felons May Outperform You in the Workplace

New research shows employers could be missing out by avoiding felons in hiring

 

 

Jordan Yadoo

For millions of U.S. job applicants with a criminal record, just making it past the screening stage of the hiring process is a challenge. New research shows that could be the employer's loss.

Using the U.S. military — the nation's largest employer — as a test case to evaluate the work performance of felons upon re-entering the job market, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst found they were no more likely than other enlistees to be discharged for the negative reasons employers often assume, such as misconduct or poor performance. What's more, they were actually promoted at a slightly higher rate and to higher ranks than those with clean criminal records.

One explanation as to why relates to the additional review process felons undergo to secure a criminal military waiver. The holistic screening takes into account the nature of the crime and time since conviction, along with any compensating skills and experience, and could result in the selection of above average recruits. The other possibility is that, having received a second chance of sorts, felons are more committed to their work and getting promoted given the scarcity of employment opportunities elsewhere.

"We see these results as very promising in terms of thinking about how, given appropriate screening, those with felony-level criminal records seem to make very promising employees," said Devah Pager, a Harvard sociologist who co-authored the study with Jennifer Lundquist and Eiko Strader from UMass Amherst. "Employers may be missing out on a huge amount of talent by screening out all those with felony-level records."

 

The study is one of the first to assess the actual performance of felons in the workplace, according to the authors. Previous research has focused on the employment barriers themselves that result from a criminal record. A 2003 study by Pager, for example, showed that ex-offenders are roughly half as likely to receive a callback relative to equally qualified applicants with no criminal record, and that black candidates suffer disproportionately. The study found that whites with criminal records received more interview callbacks than blacks without past arrests.

The new research, which used the Freedom of Information Act to collect administrative data on 1.3 million ex-offender and non-offender soldiers who enlisted between 2002 and 2009, lends support to the so-called "Ban the Box" campaign spreading around the country that aims to persuade employers to remove the check box on hiring applications that asks candidates whether they have been convicted of a crime. Supporters of the campaign say the box unnecessarily narrows the pool of qualified applicants.

Some 23 states, over 100 cities and some of the largest U.S. private employers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Target Corp., and Koch Industries Inc. have already taken steps to remove barriers in the hiring of those with a criminal record.  The federal government last week proposed a rule that would prohibit federal agencies from asking about a job applicant's criminal history until after making a conditional employment offer.

The "Ban the Box" campaign "isn't saying that employers shouldn't do criminal background checks," Pager said. "It's just saying to first focus on skills and qualifications that are relevant to the job."

If adopted nationwide, such measures could help lift employment barriers for millions of ex-offenders. Today, the U.S. incarcerated population is about four-and-a-half times larger than in 1980, with more than 2.2 million people held in federal and state prisons and county jails in 2014, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Even after adjusting for population growth, the incarceration rate grew by more than 220 percent from 1980 to 2014, according to a White House Council of Economic Advisers report issued last week. More than 600,000 individuals are released from prison each year.

Given the increase of job seekers with criminal pasts, Pager sees legitimate consequences for the broader labor market if otherwise qualified candidates are weeded out.

"We know that finding a quality, steady job following release from prison is one of the strongest predictors of desistance from crime," she said. "For that reason alone, reintegrating ex-offenders and supporting employment as a key part of that process is in everyone's interest."

Eric Mayo

I Never Use Indeed To Help Felons Get Jobs

I often hear of people using Indeed to look for jobs.  In fact, Indeed says that it gets 140 million unique visitors to its website every month.  Out of that number, I wonder how many real job leads are found there and out of that number, how many people actually get jobs.  When you click on the "apply" links on the Indeed website, what happens?  When you click the "apply" link you are asked for your personal information but I'm not really sure if the application actually reaches the employer.

My experience is that when you sign up with Indeed your email address is sold  and you will get tons of emails from career schools, how to make money at home schemes and other things that have nothing to do with getting jobs.  I never encourage the ex-offenders and felons I work with to use Indeed.  A lot of the job listings are stale and the jobs are no longer there.  I have also seen instances where the job didn't even exist.  For instance, I saw one job listed that I always see in my area here in southern New Jersey.  I mean that I see the same job listed all the time.  It was for a job at a nationwide retailer.  It was one of the companies on my list of companies that hire ex-offenders and felons.  So, I went to the store to talk to the manager, who I have known for years to see if the job was actually open.  The manger told me that he had no openings and that Indeed has had that job posted for months.

I Never Use Indeed To Help Felons Get Jobs

Can Indeed be valuable in any way?  I teach my students that if they must use Indeed,  never sign up for their website so they don't get bombarded with a bunch of spam emails.  Secondly search for jobs their area but don't click the links on the Indeed website.  Instead of clicking the link, look up the company on your own.  For example, if Indeed lists a job at XYZ company, don't click the link on Indeed, go directly to the XYZ website.   Once you get there look for the link to the company's own employment section.  It often is at the very bottom in small print and it may say "Employment" or "Careers."  Click on the link.  You will be surprised at what you will find.  You will find all of the actual open positions along with the job descriptions, requirement and how to apply.  If the company is nation-wide the job listings will be listed by geographical location.  You will often find more jobs than are listed on Indeed.

You will find that this will result in more and better job leads.

Best of luck in your job search.  Please feel free to comment on this article.

Eric Mayo

  Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Where Ex-offenders and Felons Can Find Jobs

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Ten Steps to getting a Job with a Criminal record

I Never Use Indeed To Help Felons Get Jobs

 Do Employers Have to Hire Felons?

Hi Eric, 

I was just wondering if you have any recent experience with a few of the companies on your website with regards to hiring felons. I was offered 2 positions, one by Comcast and one by Xerox, and they both declined the offer after the background check came back. My conviction is over 8 years old and had nothing to do with the positions I was being hired for. 

I have my second interview tomorrow with American Express and really don't want to got through the same disappointment. American Express asked the question about conviction on the applicant, whereas the other two companies did not. American Express still called and is taking me through the interview process, so I was just wondering if you had any insight into their company policy and if I would have any recourse against American Express if they declined the offer after the background check is conducted, since I fully disclosed everything on my application upon applying. 

I'm located in Florida, if that helps. 

Thanks!

 Do Employers Have to Hire Felons?

Hello,

Unfortunately I meet ex-offenders and felons who misunderstand what is meant by companies that hire ex-offenders and felons.  Just because a company has a policy that allows for the hiring of people with criminal records, doesn't mean that will hire all felons.  Always the nature of the conviction will be considered.

It is my experience that anyone with a conviction that involves any type of theft, fraud or robbery has a very difficult time landing a job that involves trust on any level.  Also any type of assault (aggravated or sexual) will create a difficult challenge.  Difficult does not mean impossible.  Ex-offenders and felons looking for jobs should apply for every job they feel qualified for.  They have to make the most of every opportunity to get hired.

As for having legal recourse against any company that refuses to hire you,  you have none.  Any company is free to hire or not anyone it chooses.  There is no law that states that felons have a right to a job.  Employers have a responsibility to hire the best person available.

There is a movement in this country to help make getting jobs for felons a lot easier.  The federal government is also pitching in with programs that can help ex-offenders and felons get jobs.  You can find more about them here:

I hope this helps.  Jobs for Felons: Government Help For Felons Looking for Jobs

Jobs for Felons: The Facts about Companies that Hire Ex offenders and Felons (2019)

Do Employers Have to Hire Felons?

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Mom in Texas is a Felon and Needs to find Employment

I saw your online blog and I enjoyed it. I'm currently on 3 years deferred adjudication for a felony drug charge. I'm in need of a local job in my area, but haven't really been able to find one who will hire me with a felony charge. I'm currently serving the 3 years right now and will have only 2 years left come November. I live in Alvin, TX 77511. I do not have a driver license and am kind of stuck. I have 3 small children and a husband who seems to have trouble with budgeting.

Please help if you can. I admit that I am desperate because I also have an open CPS case and they require that I get a job. I need the money to pay for daycare and groceries for my children. My husband is sick at the moment and has been unable to attend work all this week. We are behind in our rent and bills as well. A job will allow me to help pay and go grocery shopping. I understand budgeting money better than my husband, but a job will help me teach him in the process of taking care of the house, bills, and children.


Please help me to get a job. One that will hire a person on deferred adjudication for a felony drug charge. I'm definitely desperate right now.

Sincerely,


Safiyah

Mom in Texas is a Felon and Needs to find Employment

Hello Safiyah,

I'm sorry you're are having such a hard time finding work.  The thing to understand about deferred adjudication is, that it will come up as a conviction until the terms of the deferment has been met (typically a fine and probation.)

Regular readers of my blog know the first suggestion I make to ex-offenders and felons looking for jobs is to make a visit to their nearest One-stop Career center. There you will find counselors who offer career guidance. Often these counselors have experience working with people with criminal records. You can find out what career options are available to you based on your convictions. There are many other services there that can prepare you for a new career as well as listings of jobs in your immediate area.

You can find the One-stop Career Center nearest you at:


Workforce Solutions - Astrodome
Comprehensive Center

9315 Stella Link Road Houston, TX 77025-4012

Workforce Solutions - Texas City
Comprehensive Center

3549 Palmer Highway Texas City, TX 77590

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Where Ex-offenders and Felons Can Find Jobs 

Another resource in your area is Goodwill Houston.  Goodwill has been helping ex-offenders and felons find jobs across the country for many years.  You can find the Goodwill employment program in your area here:

Goodwill Houston Job Connection Services

 I understand that these options may be a distance from you so they may not be that convenient.  You may also consider temporary employment as a way to get a paycheck and possibly a permanent job.  Independent agencies, in my opinion, offer the best opportunities for ex-offenders and felons to get hired.  Often the larger corporate agencies have corporate policies that forbid the hiring of an ex-offender or felon.   With smaller companies, you will more often than not interview with the owner or manager that has the power to hire anyone that person feels is best for an assignment.

Make a list of temporary agencies in your area from the telephone book.  Visit them and apply just as you would any other job.  Have your resume with you to leave along with your application.

My final suggestion is to apply to small locally owned companies for jobs.  In most cases, small companies cannot afford to run expensive background checks so they may offer the best opportunity for you to get hired.  

I hope this helps 

 This video tells how temporary agencies work.  Felons can use temporary agencies to get jobs.

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Ten Steps to getting a Job with a Criminal record

Jobs for Ex-offenders and Felons: Updated list of companies that hire ex offenders and felons

Mom in Texas is a Felon and Needs to find Employment

Eric Mayo