Ohio employers embrace trend of hiring formerly incarcerated individuals

COLUMBUS, Ohio ( WCMH ) – Numerous Ohio employers are embracing a trend that helps job fill positions in a shrinking workforce, by hiring formerly incarcerated individuals.

Caz Walcott, director of inclusive hiring for the nonprofit Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, said there has been an increase of businesses in the U.S. expressing interest in second chance hiring programs, or hiring formerly incarcerated individuals.

“As an organization, we have seen growth in the work that we do,” Walcott said. “We really are big advocates for supporting fair chance hiring practices.”

Walcott noted one in six adults in Ohio have a criminal conviction, and that the state is facing a worker shortage. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce states there are 62 available workers for every 100 open positions. Second chance hiring programs can help industries suffering from these shortages, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

“I would say that it’s just the right thing to do,” Walcott said. “These are individuals who have served time, they’ve completed this sentence and it shouldn’t be a life sentence to economic hardship. People deserve a second chance.”

The airline, financial services, motor, manufacturing and technology industries are among the most popular second-chance hirers, along with retail stores, Walcott said. Companies like Kroger, JP Morgan Chase and Co., Verizon and Microsoft are second-chance employers, according to the Second Chance Business Coalition.

Amanda Hall, talent acquisition and training specialist at JBM Packaging, was a second-chance hire at the Ohio company in 2019. Hall said she did well in high school, graduating with a 4.0 GPA. Hall then began to succumb to peer pressure and experiment with alcohol and drugs, she said.

“I went from marijuana to cocaine to crack to methamphetamine,” Hall said. “Everything really started to fall apart. All of a sudden I had maxed out credit cards, payday loans. I went from owning my own home to having a two-bedroom apartment, a one-bedroom apartment to eventually having to move back in with my mom. My car got repossessed and eventually I lost my 13-year career with the restaurant company that I was with.”

Hall said after losing her career, she began to sell drugs to support her addiction. She was charged with two third-degree felonies and was sentenced to three years at the Ohio Reformatory for Women.

“Nobody ever expected that out of me,” Hall said. “I was such a great leader and mentor for the restaurant company that I worked with, so many people looked up to me. It was really embarrassing and I was full of a lot of guilt and shame when I went to prison. So I made a vow that I would turn my life around.”

Hall said she experienced anxiety surrounding how she was going to rebuild her life once she was released. The solution to her concerns came as JBM Packaging, a manufacturing company in Lebanon, came to the prison and gave a presentation about opportunities available through their second chance hiring program.

Hall was hired in 2019 after an interview with the company. She now recruits employees through the company’s program, which was established in 2016. Currently, the JBM Packaging has 42 second chance employees out of 142 total, according to Hall.

“If we don’t have a job then we are so much more likely to return to previous criminal behavior,” Hall said. “People tend to give up and go back to what they always know, and that creates a revolving door within the system.”

Hall said second chance employees reduce turnover and create a more engaged workforce, since people “love coming to work when they’re grateful for the opportunity.”

“I’m going to show up every day and I’m going to work 10 times harder,” Hall said. “I’m going to put my all into what I do and I’m going to stay with that company, so it positively impacts production.”

JBM Packaging also offers life coaches that meet with second chance employees once a week for six months after their release, and partners with a nonprofit that fixes up cars and donates them to lend to team members so they have a way to get to and from work. The only crimes the company does not accept are violent crimes against women and children, murder or sex crimes.

“Other than that, we’re open to hearing out people who are interested in employment on a case-by-case basis,” Hall said. “[The exceptions are] to protect our current workforce, because our people want to feel safe working alongside other fair chance team members.”

Ohio employers who hire workers with criminal histories may qualify for federal tax credits, and may request a bond at no cost to reduce any possible financial risks, according to the The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Additionally, the state’s jobs website includes a section specifically for formerly incarcerated citizens looking for work.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV.