Hire Returning Citizens to Fix Labor Shortage, says Arizona Nonprofit
Hiring people with criminal records can help businesses cope with the ongoing labor shortage in a state where roughly 450,000 Arizonans have felony convictions and 100,00 have done time, says Arouet, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding jobs for people with criminal records..
Landwebs
Arouet, a nonprofit organization dedicated to finding jobs for people with criminal records, recently hosted a symposium in Arizona to convince businesses to hire people with felony convictions in their state, reports Jeremy Duda for Axios. Roughy 450,000 Arizonans have felony convictions and about 100,000 have spent time in prison, a fact that frequently prevents them from finding employment.
Advocates said that changing the language that people use to describe someone who has been incarcerated or convicted of felonies can address stigma, as words like “felon,” “inmate,” “ex-con” and “offenders” foster prejudice and hostility. However, they also warned that presumed progressive policies, such as a 2021 Arizona law that goes into effect on Jan. 1 allowing people to have some records sealed, and so-called “ban the box” policies that prohibit questions about felony convictions on job applications, can have mixed results due to “avoidance strategies” where employers flag people with gaps in their resume.
