Why 6.9 Million Americans Deserve a Fair Shot at Work and How Employers Win by Hiring Them

As the 2026 NFL Draft opened, the league used its biggest hiring moment of the year to send a message to corporate America. In a campaign reported by HR Dive, the NFL and the Center for Employment Opportunities asked employers to stop treating a criminal record as a permanent job filter and start hiring on what candidates can actually do. That ask lands in the middle of Second Chance Hiring Month, and it matters because roughly 6.9 million Americans are currently in the criminal legal system and about 600,000 leave prison each year looking for steady work. For job seekers with records, the campaign is a signal that the doors are opening. For hiring managers, it is a reminder that skills-based hiring is not charity, it is strategy.

What the NFL campaign actually said

The NFL picked a deliberately symbolic moment. On the eve of the draft, when scouts spend months evaluating prospects on tape, combine results, and interviews, the league asked why the rest of the labor market does not use the same approach with everyday workers. Trinity Monteiro, the NFL Senior Coordinator for Social Responsibility, framed it plainly, saying that when the league looks at the data, formerly incarcerated individuals show up with a certain work ethic and grit that employers are not capturing.

The campaign was built in partnership with the Center for Employment Opportunities, a nonprofit that has placed tens of thousands of formerly incarcerated workers into jobs. Genevieve Rimer, a vice president at CEO, told HR Dive that being formerly incarcerated is one of her most prized identities because it lets her bring her whole self to work. That framing is important. It pushes back on the idea that a record is a deficit to hide and treats lived experience as a signal of resilience.

Other partners named in the coverage include Giant Food, which runs a program connecting people still inside jails and prisons with jobs on release, and Jails to Jobs, which provides interview clothing, job search training, and even tattoo removal services for candidates re-entering the workforce. The campaign also spotlighted Indeed, Georgia-Pacific, and Johns Hopkins Medicine as examples of fair chance employers that have built formal pipelines for this talent pool.

The business case for skills-based hiring

Second chance hiring is often framed as a social cause. The numbers tell a different story. About 68 percent of released prisoners are re-arrested within three years and 82 percent within nine years, according to federal recidivism data. Stable employment is the single biggest factor that breaks that cycle. When employers hire on skills and provide real jobs, recidivism drops, which lowers costs for communities and removes a steady leak of potential workers from the labor pool.

For hiring managers, the math is even more direct. Skills-based hiring widens the candidate pool, shortens time-to-fill, and reduces turnover. Research from SHRM and the Society for Human Resource Management Foundation has found that employees with records stay longer and are promoted at rates comparable to peers without records. In trades, logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, and customer service, where vacancies are chronic, this is a structural advantage rather than a favor.

The skills-first approach also aligns with where the rest of the market is heading. Over the past three years, companies like IBM, Accenture, Bank of America, and Walmart have dropped degree requirements on tens of thousands of roles. Once you stop using a college degree as a proxy for capability, it becomes much harder to justify using a years-old arrest record as a proxy either. The logic is the same. Hire the person who can do the job.

How background check filters exclude qualified workers

The standard U.S. hiring funnel is set up to screen out, not screen in. A typical background check flags any criminal history, often without context on what the offense was, when it happened, or whether it relates to the role. Many applicant tracking systems will auto-reject candidates who check the box for a prior conviction, which means the resume never reaches a human.

The numbers on who this affects are staggering. Nearly one in three adults in the United States has some form of criminal record. That is more than 70 million people. The filter hits communities of color hardest because of long-documented disparities in policing and sentencing, but it also cuts out enormous numbers of workers whose offenses were minor, non-violent, or decades old. A 22-year-old marijuana possession charge from a state where it is now legal should not block a 45-year-old from a warehouse supervisor role, yet in practice it often does.

Blanket background check policies also create legal exposure. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has issued guidance warning that automatic disqualification based on criminal history can violate Title VII if it produces disparate impact. Employers who screen records without job-related justification are taking on risk without getting a better hire in return.

What employers should actually do

The playbook for fair chance hiring is not mysterious. It has four parts.

First, adopt ban-the-box. Remove the criminal history question from the initial job application so candidates can be evaluated on qualifications first. More than 37 states and over 150 cities and counties have ban-the-box laws on the books for public or private employers. Complying is often the legal floor, not a stretch.

Second, move the background check to the end of the process and make it individualized. Run it after a conditional offer, look at the nature of the offense, how long ago it occurred, and whether it relates to the specific job. A cashier role and a fleet-driver role do not need the same screen.

Third, use structured interviews and skills assessments. Ask every candidate the same questions. Use work sample tests, trial shifts, or practical exercises that measure what the person can actually do. This reduces bias across the board, including the unconscious bias that kicks in when a recruiter sees a gap in a resume that turns out to be incarceration.

Fourth, partner with re-entry organizations. Groups like the Center for Employment Opportunities, Jails to Jobs, the Prison Fellowship, and Jobs for the Future pre-screen candidates, provide wraparound support, and often cover the first weeks of onboarding. Larger employers, including JPMorgan Chase through its Second Chance Business Coalition, have built formal pipelines with these partners. For mid-sized companies, plugging into an existing partner is far easier than building a program from scratch.

How job seekers with records can position themselves

If you are entering the workforce after incarceration, the goal is to move the conversation from what happened to what you can do. That means leading with skills.

Build a skills-first resume. List certifications, trades, software, languages, and concrete accomplishments at the top. If you earned certifications inside, through programs like Hudson Link or community college partnerships, list them the same way you would list any other credential. If you worked in a prison industry program, treat it like any other job, with duties, outcomes, and numbers.

Target fair chance employers first. Companies that have publicly committed to fair chance hiring, including the dozens of signatories to the Second Chance Business Coalition, are much more likely to move you through the funnel. The Society for Human Resource Management maintains resources on which employers have formal programs.

Prepare a short, direct answer about your record. Recruiters who ask will be deciding whether to keep going, so a clean response that acknowledges the offense, explains what you learned, and pivots to the skills you bring is the goal. You do not owe anyone your full story in a first interview.

Use platforms that match on skills. Metaintro is built on the idea that candidates should be matched to employers based on what they can do, not on pedigree or paperwork. That is the same bet the NFL just asked the rest of corporate America to make.

People Also Asked

Q: What is Second Chance Hiring Month?

A: Second Chance Hiring Month is an April campaign led by the NFL, the Center for Employment Opportunities, and corporate partners that encourages employers to hire formerly incarcerated workers based on skills, preparation, and potential rather than criminal records.

Q: Is it legal for employers to reject candidates because of a criminal record?

A: It depends on the state, the offense, and the role. The EEOC has warned that blanket disqualification can violate Title VII. More than 37 states and 150 cities have ban-the-box laws that restrict when and how employers can ask about criminal history, and employers are expected to make individualized assessments tied to the job.

Q: Does second chance hiring actually work for employers?

A: Yes. Data from SHRM and the Second Chance Business Coalition shows that workers hired through fair chance programs have retention rates equal to or higher than peers, and employers fill open roles faster in industries with chronic shortages.

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