{"id":2828,"date":"2024-10-25T20:11:22","date_gmt":"2024-10-25T20:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/?p=2828"},"modified":"2025-05-22T05:15:18","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T05:15:18","slug":"fair-chance-hiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/background-check\/fair-chance-hiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Fair Chance Hiring Practices: What You Need to Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Around 90% of the time someone applies for a job, they have to pass a background check, and for a third of adults<\/a> who have criminal records, this is problematic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At any point during the application process, applicants will have to answer questions about their criminal records if they have one. This is common practice, but it can be discriminatory against people who have criminal records. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that some employers use Fair Chance Hiring. This gives people who have criminal records a fair chance at being hired, hence the name Fair Chance Hiring. These are a set of practices that counties, states, and private companies can follow during the hiring process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article takes you through what Fair Chance Hiring is, how you can find jobs that follow these practices, and shows you how to check your records. Read on to learn more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Fair Chance Hiring?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fair Chance Hiring is a collection of practices built based on people who have a criminal history being deserving of employment. After all, what’s the point in releasing someone from prison or jail if they’re not welcome back into society? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dozens of states have Fair Chance Hiring laws, but they’re all unique based on the state, and sometimes even the specific town or county. While Fair Chance Hiring practices give someone a chance, criminal records will still become available during the background check process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key difference is that they become available after the interview process and before someone is offered a position. This gives the applicant a chance to be viewed alongside other applicants without having their resume thrown aside because of a criminal conviction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other Fair Chance Hiring practices include not using someone’s criminal history against them if the crime was non-violent and happened more than seven years ago. Many states also have Ban-the-Box laws, which remove the check box for someone’s criminal record on the initial application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, Fair Chance Hiring practices are there to give people who have a criminal record a fair chance to gain employment. Instead of having their application tossed to the side or flagged by automated software, the background check process won’t begin until later on in the hiring process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fair Chance Hiring Legislation You Need to Know <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Fair Chance Hiring legislation will help you better understand who these laws are designed to protect. It also provides insight into hiring practices and how they may impact you as an employer or an applicant. Learn about examples of Fair Chance Hiring legislation below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to hiring convicted felons the Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act<\/a> is the most important and influential act. It’s what outlines all of the fair chance laws that may be in place because it establishes a framework for how hiring felons should work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the federal level, the law prevents federal agencies from discriminating against people who have criminal records for non-violent convictions. This applies to misdemeanors and felonies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, there is an exception to this rule because some jobs require background checks by law. In these cases, background checks can still be run prior to offering employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act also doesn’t protect against more niche background checks, like OIG background checks<\/a> in the medical field, or NACI background checks<\/a> for government jobs that require security clearance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ban the Box Laws <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Ban the Box laws are in place in 37 states. These laws help people with criminal records get hired because employers can’t ask about criminal history on the initial application \u2013 its purpose is to remove the box you have to check yes<\/em> for having a criminal record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This delays the background check process until the employer decides that they like an applicant, so they have a better chance to get hired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like other types of Fair Chance Hiring legislation, how these laws work depends on the state and the type of job. For example, some sex offenders and violent felonies may still have to disclose this information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission<\/a> was established during the Civil Rights Era in the United States. While it doesn’t reference criminal records directly, it does have some laws that impact people who have a criminal history. This is because convicted felons tend to be a group that faces discrimination and other issues when trying to find work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A great example is how applicants can’t be discriminated against because of an arrest record that doesn’t lead to convictions. Additionally, when someone has a criminal record they have to be rejected because that record impacts their job, not just because they have a record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Work Opportunity Tax Credit <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There’s a work opportunity tax credit<\/a> in place that incentivizes employers to hire people who have a criminal history. The tax credit applies to other groups as well, but convicted felons are among one of the 10 groups that this credit applies to. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This tax credit helps by reducing the tax burden on businesses who hire these employees, so financially it can make sense to work with some felons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Fair Chance Hiring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fair Chance Hiring wasn’t put into place for no reason. It was put in place to help people who deserve a second chance. Not only does it help people who need a second chance, but it also helps the business owner as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We cover the benefits of Fair Chance Hiring below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Productivity <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There’s nothing wrong with hiring someone who has a criminal record, especially if it’s a crime from a long time ago. As long as you like the candidate, hiring them can be more productive than hiring someone else. This is because people on their second chance may appreciate the position more, which can encourage them to work harder. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s important to note that this won’t happen in every situation, but if someone is asking for real paying work there’s a good chance they’ll be eager to help if you hire them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Employee Retention <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to keeping a good employee, you can’t go wrong with one you hire through Fair Chance Hiring. People who are only applying to roles that follow those rules are less likely to leave once they get hired. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because they may be worried about their ability to be employed elsewhere. You’ll want to follow other employee retention options, but you might not have to press the issue as hard with people who have a criminal record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More Talent <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We already mentioned that a third of the adult population has a criminal record of some kind, so take some time to think about how much talent you might be missing out on. If you don’t interview people who have a record or fail to offer them a job, you may never see how much talent someone has. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, you can be tapping into a market that your competitors aren’t, which may give you a competitive edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workplace Diversity <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you need to hire more people from all different backgrounds, you can’t go wrong with the Fair Chance Hiring process. Many people who have one felony or misdemeanor aren’t always repeat offenders or even bad people, but the court system is known for discriminating against people who have a record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, hiring someone with a record can improve the amount of diversity in the workplace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Final Thoughts on Fair Chance Hiring Practices <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fair Chance Hiring practices give applicants exactly that \u2013 a fair chance. Without these practices in place, applicants may not be able to find employment because many employees immediately reject an application if they see that someone has a criminal record. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that many states have Fair Chance Acts and there are federal Fair Chance laws to protect people who have criminal records as well. While this isn’t possible in every industry or for every job, it’s a great opportunity for someone to get back to work and reintegrate into society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, Fair Chance Hiring can be good for business by creating workplace diversity and saving the company money on taxes. While Fair Chance Hiring practices are helpful, you should still run a background check on applicants prior to offering them a job, which you can do with our people search engine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Around 90% of the time someone applies for a job, they have to pass a background check, and for a third of adults who have criminal records, this is problematic.  At any point during the application process, applicants will have to answer questions about their criminal records if they have one. This is common practice, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":2987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1390],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2829,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions\/2829"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uspeoplesearch.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}