This document discusses challenges facing individuals with criminal records in obtaining employment after incarceration and potential policy solutions. It notes that employers are often reluctant to hire ex-offenders due to concerns about trustworthiness and legal liability. The use of criminal background checks by employers, which disproportionately screen out black and Latino job applicants, is identified as a contributing factor. The document advocates addressing legal barriers to employment, improving skills training, and supporting entrepreneurship as ways to increase post-incarceration job opportunities.

1. SOME THOUGHTS ON POST-
INCARCERATION EMPLOYMENT
Michael A. Stoll
Department of Public Policy
Luskin School of Public Affairs
UCLA
1

2. The Number of State and Federal Prisoners per 100,000 U.S.
Residents: 1925 through 2011
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Prisonersper100,000
2

3. Why are so many Americans in prison?
• We’re more likely to punish convicted felons with prison than we
were in the past (especially for drug crimes)
• Those we send to prison now serve more time (especially for
violent crime).
• BOTTOM LINE: Public Policy Drove Increase
4

4. Reducing incarceration through smarter use of prisons :
Introduce greater discretion in sentencing and parole
• Revise the scope and severity of “Truth-in-sentencing”
laws
• Take inventory of and reevaluate legislatively mandated
minimum sentence
8

5. Reducing incarceration through smarter use of prisons:
County governments should have some skin in the game
• Positive marginal cost for each prison-year served that is higher for less-
serious offenders
• Block grant for criminal justice expenditures coupled with a per-prisoner
head tax
• No charges within pre-determined band. Per inmate tax for
incarceration in excess of upper-bound and per-inmate transfer for
incarceration below lower bound
• Share incarceration savings from county-specific reductions in
incarceration with county criminal justice agencies
9

6. Evidence of local CJ responsiveness to
fiscal incentives
10

7. Evidence of local CJ responsiveness to fiscal incentives
California Community Corrections Performance Incentives Act of
2009
• Savings from reductions in probation revocations below a baseline shared
with localities
• 33 percent reduction in probation failures within three years.
11

8. Figure 1
Employer Willingness to Hire Applicants with a Criminal Record
5.3
15.7
24.1
36.4
18.5
0.0
5.0
10.0
15.0
20.0
25.0
30.0
35.0
40.0
Definitely Will Probably Will Probably Not Absolutely Not Depends on
Crime

9. Why Are Employers Adverse to Hiring Ex-Offenders?
• Reluctant to hire ex-offenders
May steal or harm customers
Imperfect monitoring of employees-premium on trustworthiness
• Certain occupations are legally closed to applicants with prior felony
convictions
• Protect against lawsuits
Legally liable for criminal actions of employees - theory of negligent
hiring

10. Correlates of Employer Aversion to Ex-Offenders
• Smaller establishments
• Service and FIRE sectors (Manufacturing open to hiring)
• Customer Contact
• Use Informal Recruiting Methods
• Unwilling to hire other “disadvantaged groups”

11. Potential Mechanisms to Act on Aversion
• Use of Criminal Background Checks
(Holzer, Raphael and Stoll, 2003, 2004; Stoll & Bushway, 2008)
• Statistical discrimination
(Pager, 2003; Holzer, Raphael and Stoll, 2006)

12. Use of Criminal Background Checks
• larger firms
• industries with more customer contact (retail trade, service and FIRE)
• increasing over time
• mostly from private sources

13. Employers May Check for Other Reasons
• Seek additional information about ex-offenders
Make risk assessed hiring decisions

14. Figure
Difference in Hiring for Firms that Check and Don't Check Criminal Backgrounds by
Race/Ethnicity
0.198
0.118
0.075
0.526
0.214
0.031
0.051
0.087
0.024
0.575
-0.016 -0.049
-0.100
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
Last Hire White Last Hire Black
Male
Last Hire Black
Female
Last Hire Latino
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

15. What to Do?
Address Legal Requirements and Risk
Legal
Re-examine Federal, State and Local Employment/Licensing
Restrictions
Ensure Accuracy of Records
Risk
Indemnify Employers – Bonds
Common Sense Record Expungement
Address Skills, Job Matching, and Entrepreneurialism

16. Figure
Difference in Hiring for Firms that Check and Don't Check Criminal Backgrounds by
Race/Ethnicity
0.198
0.118
0.075
0.526
0.214
0.031
0.051
0.087
0.024
0.575
-0.016 -0.049
-0.100
0.000
0.100
0.200
0.300
0.400
0.500
0.600
Last Hire White Last Hire Black
Male
Last Hire Black
Female
Last Hire Latino
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

17. Figure
Percent of Last Hires who are Black Men by Checking Status of Firm and Employer
Willingness to Hire Ex-Offenders
0.032
0.129
0.143
0.034
0.019
0.043
0.110
0.100
-0.002
-0.020
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
0.140
0.160
Willing to Hire Depends on Crime Unwilling to Hire
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

18. Figure
Percent of Last Hires who are Black Men by Legal Requirement to Check Status and
Method of Checking
0.067
0.051
0.043
0.036
0.121
0.020
0.012
0.152
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
0.140
0.160
Legally Required-
Criminal Justice
Agencies
Legally Required-
Private Sources
Not Legally Required-
Criminal Justice
Agencies
Not Legally Required-
Private Sources
Yes Difference from Doesn't Check

19. Figure
Distribution of Employer Preferences for Ex-Offenders by Legal Requirement to
Check Status and Method of Checking
41.7 44.1 45.0
34.3
48.3
50.0 45.0
43.8
10.0
5.9
10.0
21.9
Legally Required-Criminal
Justice Agencies
Legally Required-Private
Sources
Not Legally Required-
Criminal Justice Agencies
Not Legally Required-
Private Sources
unwilling depends willing

20. Figure
Percent Last Hires who are Black Men by Method of Checking
0.072
0.106
0.000
0.041
0.075
-0.031
-0.040
-0.020
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
Criminal Justice Agencies Private Sources Ask Applicants
Yes Difference from Doesn't Check

21. Figure
Percent Last Hires who are Black Men by Minority Owned Status of Firms
0.150
0.112
0.022
0.035
0.128
0.077
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
0.140
0.160
Minority Owned Firm Not Minority Owned
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

22. Figure
Percent Last Hires who are Black Men by Method of Checking
0.072
0.106
0.000
0.041
0.075
-0.031
-0.040
-0.020
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
Criminal Justice Agencies Private Sources Ask Applicants
Yes Difference from Doesn't Check

23. Figure
Percent Last Hires who are Black Men by Minority Owned Status of Firms
0.150
0.112
0.022
0.035
0.128
0.077
0.000
0.020
0.040
0.060
0.080
0.100
0.120
0.140
0.160
Minority Owned Firm Not Minority Owned
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

24. Figure
Percent of Last Hires who are Black Men by Race of Employer
0.095
0.241
0.104
0.037
0.063
0.026
0.058
0.178
0.078
0.000
0.050
0.100
0.150
0.200
0.250
0.300
White Employer Black Employer Latino Employer
Checks Background Doesn't Check Difference

25. Figure
Percentage of Employers that Check Backgrounds by Race of Employer
0.382
0.644
0.469
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
White Employer Black Employer Latino Employer