Hire More Felons

The wall

Employers standing up

3Companies signed

Jane Lehman Consulting

Hire

Chemtracer T&D

Hire

constrAInt

Hire

The case

The fear does not match the facts

People assume a record means a risk. The research says the opposite. This group shows up, stays longer, and performs as well as the people you are hiring now. Here is the evidence, with sources.

27%

The unemployment rate of formerly incarcerated people in the only national measure ever taken. Five times the general rate at the time (2008).

Prison Policy Initiative

1 in 4

Workers already in the U.S. workforce have at least one prior conviction. You already employ this population.

RAND, 2024

85%

Of HR professionals say workers with records perform as well or better than other hires.

SHRM, 2021

12%

Lower annual turnover for employees with records in a national retailer's HR data. An academic study of 10,000+ hires found the same pattern: longer tenure, fewer quits.

ACLU, 2017 · Northwestern Kellogg, 2018

16vs52

Three-year recidivism for people who hold a steady job at least a year versus those who can't stay employed. Steady work is one of the strongest predictors of staying out.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2021

70M

Americans carry a record. That is the size of the workforce being left on the table.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

And the downside is covered

The government insures the risk

The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, gives employers a free insurance bond that reimburses any loss from a new hire's theft, forgery, or embezzlement. No cost, no deductible, in effect from the first day. Since the program started in 1966, employers have claimed fewer than one percent of these bonds.

See the Federal Bonding Program →

U.S. Department of Labor

Take the pledge

Pick the level you can stand behind

You do not have to solve everything to start. Choose the commitment that is honest for your company today. You can always climb higher.

Choose your level

InterviewFair Chance EmployerWe give qualified applicants a fair chance. We do not automatically reject someone because of a record. We weigh each person on their skills, their character, and their fit before their past.

Select

HireChampion EmployerWe actively hire qualified people with records. We look past the record to the person, and we give them a real job and a genuine path to grow.

Select

Two more doors

Whoever you are, there is a next step

Have a record and need work?Find help near youA national directory of reentry and employment programs, sorted by where you live.Find a program →Who is behind thisBuilt by constrAIntWe make the tools that get people with records ready for the hardest conversation: the interview.See how it works →

Employers standing up

The fear does not match the facts

The government insures the risk

Pick the level you can stand behind

Add your name

Whoever you are, there is a next step