An executive chef who started a nonprofit to help people buy groceries. A treatment court coordinator who helps people turn their lives around. A bus operator whose smile lights up the room. These are just a few success stories from local employers who have adopted fair chance hiring practices. They shared their experiences at the Fair Chance Hiring Workshop & Expo hosted by the Criminal Justice Advisory Council (CJAC) and Greater Oklahoma City Chamber. The event, held May 24 at the Champion Convention Center, was designed to educate businesses on the benefits of hiring people who have been involved in the justice system. The event featured three panel discussions. Panelist Jenna Morey is executive director at ReMerge, a pre-trial FAIR CHANCE SUCCESS STORIES SHARED AT CJAC/CHAMBER EVENT
diversion program for high-risk, high-need mothers facing criminal charges in Oklahoma County. She said the women who graduate from ReMerge make fantastic employees. “This is someone who is resilient. This is someone who has done a lot of internal work and has emotional maturity that other candidates may not have,” Morey said. “Work is very important to us because it is the number one factor of recidivism. We want to create not only options but also meaning and power and connection and recovery capital so that these women and their kiddos [can] continue to thrive in our community.” The panel also included insight from Lora Miller, human resources specialist for EMBARK. She stressed the importance of looking at candidates as individuals instead of ruling them out because of one question on a job application. “A lot of employers have a knockout question when you fill out an application: Have you ever been convicted of a felony? Recruiters never see that application. Just removing that question opens a lot of doors,” Miller said. The event also featured a panel on legal considerations for implementing a fair chance hiring policy. Panelist Michael Bowling, J.D., director at Crowe & Dunlevy, said it helps to remind company executives about federal employment discrimination laws. “It’s best to think through everything first,” Bowling said. “You have to consider what’s fair to candidates and
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