Understanding Policies that Impact Employment Opportunities for People Who Have Criminal Records
For people who have criminal records, there are many policy-driven roadblocks to employment that occur before their job applications are even considered. The Reentry and Employment Project can help policymakers from all levels of government understand how policies can create prolonged obstacles to employment—from obtaining documentation to passing background checks—and how people who have criminal records can join the workforce without compromising public safety.
A Look at the Numbers
- The existence of a criminal record is more detrimental to employment prospects for black applicants than for white applicants. Black applicants without a criminal record are called back at lower rates (14 percent) than white applicants with a criminal record (17 percent).
- People with criminal records struggle to find and keep a job for a variety of reasons, including:
- Minimal work experience and limited or diminished job skills and education for those that were incarcerated (41 percent of adults that are incarcerated do not have a high school diploma or equivalency, compared to 18 percent of the general adult population)
- Employer reluctance to hire people with criminal records (87 percent of employers conduct criminal background checks for some or all job applicants. The existence of a criminal record reduces job callbacks by 50 percent on average.)
- More than 20,000 job-related statutes and regulations (People who are trained or are seeking employment in certain fields are prohibited from attaining mandatory occupational licenses due to their criminal records.)
- These barriers have a significant impact on the overall economy. The economy loses approximately $78 billion to $87 billion annually in GDP when people with criminal records are unemployed or underemployed.
Opportunities for Policy Change
Policymakers have adopted a menu of reforms designed to improve employment and public safety outcomes.
Click on a topic below to learn more.
Related Tools and Resources
Select a topic area below to learn more about the legal and policy barriers related to reentry and employment.
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Impact of a criminal record on employment
Does a Criminal Record Predict Worker Performance PDF
Source: ESRCheckEconomic Benefits of Employing Formerly Incarcerated Individuals in Philadelphia PDF
Source: Economy League of Greater PhiladelphiaEx-Offenders and the Labor Market PDF
Source: Center for Economic and Policy ResearchEnduring Risk? Old Criminal Records and Prediction of Future Criminal Involvement PDF
Source: Crime & DelinquencyThe Mark of a Criminal Record PDF
Source: Northwestern UniversityRedemption in the Presence of Widespread Criminal Background Checks PDF
Source: American Society of CriminologyThe Price We Pay: The Economic Costs of Barriers to Employment for Former Prisoners and People Convicted of Felonies
Source: Center for Economic and Policy ResearchBanning the Box but Keeping the Discrimination? Disparate Impact and Employers’ Overreliance on Criminal Background
Checks PDF
Source: Harvard Civil Rights – Civil Liberties Law ReviewCriminal Background Checks: Impact on Employment and Recidivism PDF
Source: Urban Institute -
Understanding and mitigating the impact of collateral consequences
National Inventory of Collateral Consequences
Source: The Council of State Governments Justice CenterCompilation of Federal Collateral Consequences
Source: Collateral Consequences Resource CenterUnlicensed & Untapped: Removing Barriers to State Occupational Licenses for People with Records
Source: National Employment Law ProjectCollateral Costs: Incarceration’s Effect on Economic Mobility PDF
Source: The Pew Charitable TrustsGuidance for Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) and Owners of Federally-Assisted Housing on Excluding the Use of Arrest Records in Hiring Decisions PDF
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Public and Indian HousingExpunging America’s Rap Sheet in the Information Age PDF
Source: Wisconsin Law ReviewThe Effectiveness of Certificates of Relief as Collateral Consequence Relief Mechanisms: An Experimental Study
Source: Yale Law & Policy ReviewWhen the Fallout of a Criminal Conviction Goes too Far: Challenging Collateral Consequences
Source: Stanford Journal of Civil Rights and Civil LibertiesPaying their Debt to Society: Forgiveness, Redemption and the Uniform Collateral Consequences of Conviction Act PDF
Source: Howard Law JournalCollateral Consequences of Criminal Convictions: Confronting Issues of Race and Dignity PDF
Source: New York University Law ReviewRestoration of Rights Project
Source: Collateral Consequences Resource Center -
The availability and use of criminal records for employment decisions
Clean Slate Clearinghouse
Source: The Council of State Governments Justice CenterMore Justice and Less Harm: Reinventing Access to Criminal History Records
Source: Howard Law JournalEmployer Use of Consumer/Credit Reports to Obtain Criminal Record Information
Source: Legal Action Center’s National H.I.R.E NetworkEnforcement Guidance on the Consideration of Arrest and Conviction Records in Employment Decisions Under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended
Source: Equal Employment Opportunities CommissionBan the Box: U.S. Cities, Counties, and States Adopt Fair Hiring Policies PDF
Source: National Employment Law ProjectBest Practice Standards: The Proper Use of Criminal Records in Hiring PDF
Source: Legal Action Center’s National H.I.R.E Network -
Hiring incentives to increase employment opportunities
Reentry Mythbuster on Federal Bonding Program PDF
Source: Federal Interagency Reentry CouncilReentry Mythbuster on Employer Tax Credits PDF
Source: Federal Interagency Reentry CouncilSubsidized Employment: A Strategy for Bad Economic Times and for the Hard-to-Employ PDF
Source: MDRCBack to Business: How Hiring Formerly Incarcerated Job Seekers Benefits Your Company
Source: ACLU Trone Center for Justice and Equality