MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Shelby County Mayor's Office and Greater Memphis Chamber are joining together to encourage small businesses to hire formerly incarcerated people.
The groups hosted a ‘Lunch & learn’ panel Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023, in an effort to explain how Shelby County reformed its job application process to help give a second chance and possible employment to those with a criminal record.
Officials said employers should consider changing job applications by only asking about criminal background after an offer is made.
Shelby County itself removed all questions about prior criminal history in 2020 as part of the ‘Ban the Box’ ordinance and has since also implemented a job site that provides positions to those with a record. Find it at https://worktobreakthecycle.com/.
"Once an offer is made, that's when the criminal history is checked,” said Jerri Green, Senior Policy Advisor to Mayor Harris. “Before, we had it all over on top, in red, in bold 'we are gonna check your criminal history,’ which if you look at a screen immediately you say 'nope, that's not going to be the place for me.' But we just kept the language where we just made a little less alarming and a little more to where it needs to be so people say 'we do want to hire you.'”
Shelby County said since the initiatives were put into place, it has hired more than 150 people with ‘adverse backgrounds’ over the past three years. Leaders said the goal is to reduce crime and decrease recidivism rates.
