Employer Resources

Fair chance (most often referred to as second chance) hiring is founded on the basic idea that everyone – regardless of identity and background, including criminal history – has a right to apply and be fairly assessed for jobs they are qualified to fill. There are many advantages to this approach, including creating a competitive advantage through both diversity of workforce but also a positive bottom line. More and more employers are undertaking fair chance hiring initiatives to include a wider employee pool, meet their diversity and inclusion goals and boost their competitive edge.

Best Practices and Principles

CFSY's Fair Chance Hiring Best Practices

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The CFSY offers best practices for fair chance hiring including general tips for success, and concrete steps to follow to get your company motivated and ready, to acquire fair chance talent, and to onboard and promote new employees.

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4 Best Practices for Second-Chance Hiring

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The Society for Human Resource Management provides a brief article about best practices for hiring people with criminal records, which includes: Making the effort part of corporate culture; Providing training and work support; Establish Mentoring; and Default to Transparency.

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Dave's Killer Bread Foundation Playbook

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Dave’s Killer Bread created a Playbook with free video content designed for business leaders and human resource professionals looking to understand and adopt fair chance hiring within their organizations.

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The Getting Talent Back to Work Digital Toolkit

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The Society for Human Resource Management created a comprehensive toolkit to support employers with fair chance hiring, including how to best recruit, welcome and develop employees who have criminal backgrounds.

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Checkr Learning Center

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Checkr is the leader in the background check industry. As a fair chance, mission driven company, their trust and safety platform is strengthened through the integration of fairness tools that help customers get a wide and diverse talent pipeline and which open doors to employment consideration for people who are formerly incarcerated. Checkr is a proud fair chance employer and advocate and wants to ensure that a criminal record is not a barrier to professional success.

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Understanding and Developing Organizational Culture

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The Society for Human Resource Management toolkit for building a culture based on strongly held and widely shared beliefs that are supported by strategy and structure.

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California Employers’ Fair Chance Hiring Toolkit

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Many authors and entities contributed to this Toolkit on fair chance hiring in CA. The Toolkit includes information on Legal Compliance and Minimizing Risk; Choosing a Background Check Company; Rewards of Hiring Fair Chance Workers; and Best practices for Training and Onboarding.

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Best Practices and Model Policies: Creating a Fair Chance Policy

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The National Employment Law Project provides the top 10 principles to follow as you craft a fair chance hiring policy, including “ban the box”. These principles have been distilled from work with jurisdictions across the country and are applicable to any state or region.

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Bringing Fair Chance Hiring into the Diversity & Inclusion Conversation: Part 1

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Greenhouse.io is dedicated to helping every company be great at hiring. This is the first of a two-part blog series, covering issues of diversity and inclusion in hiring programs.

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5 Tips for Implementing Fair Chance Hiring to Increase your Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives: Part 2

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Greenhouse.io’s second in the 2-part blog series, focusing on five steps that an employer can take to implement a fair chance hiring program, including: Know the laws; Get Executive buy-in; Communicate with the company; Find the Right Partners; and Start now and build the foundation for success

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Employers Who are Leading the Way

Hot Chicken Takeover

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Hot Chicken Takeover was formed as a business with a social mission. The company’s purpose is to hire people not based on their pasts, but their futures; approximately 70% of their employees have past criminal records.

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Mod Pizza Finds Strength as Second Chance Employer

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Named the fastest growing restaurant chain in the U.S., Mod Pizza prides itself as a second chance employer.

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Growing a Manufacturing Company with a Social Mission

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Harvard Business Review podcast highlighting a manufacturing company in Ohio that turned hiring convicted felons into a competitive advantage, providing the company with decreased turnover and higher staff loyalty.

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Got a Criminal Record? Will Hire

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Article on businesses that have vowed to hire those with a criminal record.

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NC Agencies Implement ‘Fair Chance’ Employment Policies

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North Carolina state agencies are changing hiring practices to help give people with criminal histories more opportunities. Under a 2020 executive order, state agencies must omit criminal records questions from employment applications; background checks must wait until later; applicants will be given the opportunity to explain their histories; and criminal pardons and expunctions cannot be considered in hiring.

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Fair Chance Hiring is Good for the Bottom Line

Laws and Regulations

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee because of the person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.

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Enforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest Records When Hiring - EEOC

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The purpose of this Enforcement Guidance is to consolidate and update the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's guidance documents regarding the use of arrest or conviction records in employment decisions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 2000e et seq.

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Risks of Not Hiring

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Excellent information about how to use background checks fairly, and the steps legally required when deciding not to hire.

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Macy’s Settles Lawsuit Over Criminal Background Checks

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Macy’s settled a lawsuit for $1.8 million, for relying too heavily on background checks and not assessing candidates individually through a robust interview or other processes. In addition, Macy’s is required to take additional steps to be in compliance with local law that ensures individuals with criminal history records are evaluated fairly during the hiring process.

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Fair Chance Act Campaign in New York City

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The Fair Chance Act makes it illegal for employers in New York City to ask about the criminal records of applicants before making a job offer.

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New Guidance Clarifies Protections for California Workers With Criminal Records

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CA's Fair Chance Act prohibits most employers with five or more employees from inquiring into a candidate's criminal record before making a conditional offer of employment.

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Employment Regulations Regarding Criminal History, the California Family Rights Act, and the New Parent Leave Act

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Final text of California’s Code of Regulations, including what employers need to know when considering criminal history in hiring decisions.

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