Major U.S. Employers Commit to Advancing Second Chance Employment

New Coalition Will Work to Lower Barriers to Employment for People with a Criminal Record as Part of Inclusive Workforce Strategies

Washington, DC, April 26, 2021 – A group of major employers and national organizations today launched the Second Chance Business Coalition (SCBC) to expand hiring and advancement practices for people with criminal records within their companies. One in three Americans has an arrest or conviction record that can significantly impact their ability to get a job.

Co-chaired by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman & CEO Jamie Dimon and Chairman & CEO of Eaton Craig Arnold, the SCBC promotes the benefits of second chance employment and provides major employers with a set of tools, relationships and expertise to allow them to successfully hire and provide career advancement and greater economic opportunities to people with criminal records. Companies that have already joined the SCBC include Accenture, AT&T, Bank of America, Best Buy, Cisco, CVS Health, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Eaton, Gap Inc., General Motors, The Home Depot, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Koch Industries, Kroger, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Prudential Financial, Inc., Schnitzer Steel Industries, Target, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Union Pacific, Verizon Communications, Visa, Vistra Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance and Walmart.

“Business has an important role to play in making it easier for people with criminal backgrounds to get back on their feet,” said Dimon, who also serves as Chair of the Business Roundtable Racial Equity and Justice, Subcommittee on Finance. “At JPMorgan Chase, last year, we hired 2,100 people with criminal backgrounds. Providing a second chance will give people dignity and allow them to provide for their families, and it helps companies like ours expand the number of people we hire to ensure we get the best talent.”

“Far too many Americans are limited in their prospects for employment and upward mobility because they have a criminal record, even though they may be qualified for a job,” said Craig Arnold, Chairman & CEO of Eaton and Chair of the Business Roundtable Racial Equity and Justice, Subcommittee on Equitable Justice. “As business leaders, it is incumbent upon us to remove barriers to employment and advancement by allowing individuals with criminal records to fairly compete for job opportunities.”

In addition to the co-chairs, five partner organizations will lead the Coalition: Business Roundtable, the Society for Human Resource Management, Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, Stand Together and the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Pivot Program.

The Coalition will help employers tap into a talent pool that includes the nearly 70 million Americans, or one in three adults, who have a criminal record, by:

• Developing best practices and enabling companies to share approaches and experiences, learn from subject-matter experts and deploy tools to improve second chance recruitment, retention, manager training, performance and satisfaction.

• Launching pilot initiatives to test new approaches to second chance hiring and advancement practices. This effort will include partnerships with community service organizations and providers and will use metrics to guide decision-making.

Research shows that individuals with a conviction history often experience significant collateral consequences as a result, including barriers to employment and a lack of opportunities to advance professionally. For example, a criminal record alone can reduce the chances of a second interview by 50 percent. With labor markets tight and employers struggling to find qualified candidates for open positions, second chance employment programs give companies access to new sources of untapped talent. A Society for Human Resource Management study found that 82 percent of managers feel that the “quality of hire” for workers with criminal records is as high as or higher than that for workers without records.

Learn more at www.secondchancebusinesscoalition.org.

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The Second Chance Business Coalition (SCBC) is a cross-sector coalition of large, private-sector firms committed to expanding second chance hiring and advancement practices within their companies. Leveraging the support and expertise of its five partner organizations – Business Roundtable, the Society for Human Resource Management, Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, Stand Together and the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Pivot Program – coalition member companies will be equipped with best practices, technical assistance and support to increase the number of people with criminal records they hire and put them on a path to greater upward mobility. Learn more at www.secondchancebusinesscoalition.org.