Press Release

Second Chance Business Coalition Marks Second Anniversary

by Second Chance Business Coalition Mar 31, 2023

Second Chance Business Coalition Marks Second Anniversary
Members Report Progress as Coalition Gears Up for Second Chance Month

Washington, DC, March 31, 2023 – The Second Chance Business Coalition (SCBC) will mark its second anniversary this April, which is also Second Chance Month. The SCBC promotes the benefits of second chance employment and provides its member companies with the tools, relationships and expertise to advance career and economic opportunities for the more than 80 million Americans with criminal records.

Indeed, NBCUniversal, Ralph Lauren and Total Wine have recently joined the SCBC, raising total membership to 46 large employers.

“Providing a second chance to people with criminal backgrounds creates opportunity for millions, helps employers find top talent and strengthens communities,” said Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase & Co. and co-chair of the SCBC. “Over the last two years, more member companies have stepped up to join this effort and help create a stronger and more inclusive economy.”

“Since its founding two years ago, the SCBC has become a vital source of guidance and resources for companies building second chance programs,” said Craig Arnold, Chairman & CEO of Eaton and co-chair of the SCBC. “We look forward to growing our network of member companies and continuing to expand the coalition’s impact on the lives of those with criminal records in the United States.”

Recently, SCBC member companies participated in a survey on their second chance practices. Key findings include:

  • About half of participating companies track the number of individuals with criminal records they employ. Of those, nearly three-quarters reported that more than 5 percent of their new hires are second chance candidates.
  • 76 percent have reviewed or updated their HR policies to be more inclusive of second chance candidates.
  • 62 percent have established hiring programs or partnerships to recruit second chance candidates.
  • More than half (51 percent) partner or contract with a reentry or other organization to administer hiring or support programs for their employees with criminal backgrounds.
  • 57 percent reported facing regulatory restrictions related to hiring individuals with any or certain types of conviction history.

As the SCBC enters its third Second Chance Month this April, it is planning several activities to advance second chances:

  1. On Monday, April 3, CEO Hans Vestberg of SCBC member Verizon will join industry experts and the governor of Oklahoma at “The Business Case for Second Chance Employment,” an in-person event the SCBC is co-hosting with Business Roundtable, Eaton, JPMorgan Chase & Co., the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School and Justice Through Code at Columbia University.
  2. The SCBC is expanding its Community Partners Map from 45 to 76 markets. The interactive tool connects employers committed to second chance employment with more than 800 community-based organizations that provide work-readiness training and wraparound support to people who are impacted by the justice system.
  3. The SCBC will release a Legal Considerations Best Practices guide later this month, which will outline many of the major legal challenges employers often face in building their second chance programs and will offer practical advice on how to address them.

The full membership of the SCBC now includes Accenture, Allstate, American Airlines, Aon, AT&T, Bank of America, Best Buy, BorgWarner, Cisco, CVS Health, Deloitte, DICK’S Sporting Goods, Eaton, Gap Inc., General Motors, The Home Depot, Indeed, JPMorgan Chase & Co., Kelly Services, Koch Industries, Kroger, LKQ Corporation, Lowe’s, Mastercard, McDonald’s, Micron Technology, Microsoft, NBCUniversal, PayPal, PepsiCo, Procter & Gamble, Prudential Financial, Inc., Ralph Lauren, Randstad, Schnitzer Steel Industries, Target, Texas Instruments Incorporated, Total Wine, Union Pacific, United Airlines, Verizon Communications, Virgin, Visa, Vistra Corp., Walgreens Boots Alliance and Walmart.

Interested large employers can review the business case for second chance employment and contact the SCBC for more information at info@secondchancebusinesscoalition.org. To learn more about our work, visit us 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 our four partner organizations – Business Roundtable, the Society for Human Resource Management, Stand Together and the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business Pivot Program – we equip our coalition member companies with best practices, technical assistance and support to increase the number of people with criminal records they hire and put on a path to greater upward mobility. Learn more at www.secondchancebusinesscoalition.org.