The opportunity
You have open positions. They need work. This isn't complicated.
Job openings outnumber unemployed workers by millions. Industries from construction to healthcare to logistics are struggling to fill roles — while simultaneously ignoring one of the largest available talent pools in the country.
Nearly one in three working-age Americans has some form of criminal record. The vast majority are qualified, work-ready, and motivated. They are not being considered — not because they lack skills, but because a checkbox on an application ended the conversation before it started.
Companies that have removed that barrier are reporting something consistent: these employees show up, work hard, and stay.
"This is business, not charity. Fair chance hiring is one of the most effective workforce strategies available to employers today."
— Jeffrey Korzenik, economist and author of Untapped Talent
Retention & loyalty
They stay. And they perform.
Turnover is one of the most significant costs in any business. Recruiting, onboarding, and training a new employee costs thousands of dollars per position. Fair chance hires consistently outperform the general workforce on the metrics that matter most to the bottom line.
The Second Chance Business Coalition — which includes more than 40 major private-sector companies — found that 82% of managers and 67% of HR professionals report that fair chance employees bring value equal to or higher than workers without records. Over 80% say these employees elevated the loyalty and engagement of their entire workforce.
"These employees are hardworking, they're loyal, and they're appreciative of the fact that they got a second chance."
— Senior executive, Kelly Services Equity@Work program, via MIT Sloan Management Review
Financial incentives
The federal government will pay you to do this.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is a federal tax incentive that directly rewards employers for hiring justice-impacted workers. Most employers who qualify never claim it.
The WOTC provides up to $9,600 in federal tax relief per qualified new hire from targeted groups — including people hired within one year of conviction or release from a felony sentence.
There is no limit on the number of qualifying hires you can claim. Full-time, part-time, temporary, and seasonal employees all qualify. The application requires completing two one-page forms — one before the job offer is made, one within 28 days of the hire start date.
Many states offer additional tax credits on top of the federal WOTC. We recommend checking with your state Department of Labor for available incentives in your jurisdiction.
In plain terms: a company that makes 10 fair chance hires in a year could reduce its federal tax liability by up to $96,000 — while simultaneously reducing turnover costs and building a more loyal workforce. The financial case is not ambiguous.
Community impact
Your hire reduces crime. The data is unambiguous.
Employment is one of the strongest known predictors of successful reentry. People who find stable work after release are dramatically less likely to reoffend — which means the communities where your business operates, and where your employees live, become safer.
This is not a values argument. It is an empirical finding replicated across decades of criminological research. Stable employment protects communities. Unemployment destabilizes them.
"Employment was the single most important factor in decreasing recidivism."
— Berg & Huebner, Justice Quarterly, 2011 — among the most cited studies in reentry research
When you hire from this talent pool you are not taking a chance on someone. You are providing the single most effective intervention available for reducing the likelihood that a person will ever reoffend. The background check that would have screened them out wasn't protecting your community. Your hire does.
Read our full mission statement and the complete recidivism data →
Something worth knowing
The alternative to you isn't "no job." It's a bad one.
When reputable employers decline to hire justice-impacted workers, those workers don't simply wait. Facing rent, supervision requirements, and the pressure of limited options, they take what they can find.
Research from the National Employment Law Project documents what that often means: temporary, underpaid, unsafe, and dead-end jobs offered by employers who specifically target this population because they know these workers have fewer alternatives and less bargaining power. Wage theft, unsafe conditions, and exploitative contracts are well-documented in industries that prey on desperation.
The Prison Policy Initiative has documented how businesses capitalize on the desperation of people with conviction histories — exploiting the fact that these individuals have less power to demand fair wages, benefits, or safe conditions.
When a reputable employer — one with fair wages, safe conditions, and genuine opportunity for advancement — chooses to hire from this pool, they are not just filling a position. They are actively removing someone from a cycle of exploitation. That matters. And it reflects on the kind of company you are.
You'd be in good company
These companies don't see it as a risk.
Some of the most recognized brands in the country have formal fair chance hiring commitments. They're not doing it for optics — they're doing it because it works, it reduces turnover, and it reflects their values.
Members of the Second Chance Business Coalition and similar programs include:
In 2023 alone, 9% of JPMorgan Chase's new hires had a prior conviction. That's not an accident — it's a deliberate strategy backed by data, supported by leadership, and delivering results.
The bottom line
What fair chance hiring actually delivers.
✦ Lower turnover — 13% less than the general workforce, saving ~$1,000 per position annually
✦ Higher loyalty and engagement — consistently documented across industries
✦ Federal tax credits — up to $9,600 per qualifying hire, no cap on number of hires
✦ Larger talent pool — access to 70M+ Americans currently being ignored
✦ Safer communities — employment is the most effective reentry intervention available
✦ Stronger team culture — fair chance hires elevate engagement across the entire workforce
✦ The right side of history — and the law, as ban-the-box legislation continues to expand