EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT

This not only helps individuals who are seeking good jobs and economic opportunity, but it helps employers who are looking to find and retain qualified workers amidst growing labor shortages.

More than a decade ago, when GJP started our criminal records work, we engaged with employers as a way to learn and understand their concerns about—as well as their interests in—hiring people who have a criminal record. We held numerous employer roundtable events aimed at this goal. GJP continues to host employer events and is frequently invited by Chambers of Commerce, HR professionals, workforce groups and others to articulate the business case for second chance hiring, explain what Georgia’s new expungement law means for employers, and give guidance on how companies can remove unnecessary barriers in their recruitment, screening, and hiring policies and practices. (See below for recordings and resources from those events.)

We are grateful to partner with businesses and chambers across the state, including the Georgia Chamber of Commerce and the Metro Atlanta Chamber, in both public education and, often, in our policy work. In 2023, both Chambers advocated for HB 334, which would increase access to expungement and SB 157, which would provide a fair chance at careers in licensed fields. We will continue to work together to strengthen Georgia’s workforce and enhance public safety through these initiatives.

In 2022, both Chambers supported the passage of SB 10, a bill to reduce driver’s license suspensions, because suspended licenses impede people’s ability to obtain and retain employment.

In 2021, both Chambers supported SB 105 that reduced Georgia’s long probation sentences. In 2020, the Metro Chamber and 6 companies publicly supported SB 288, which for the first time allowed Georgians to restrict and seal old convictions from their record. More about these two efforts is here.

Our partnerships with employers and chambers are rooted in the understanding that the changes we advocate for help not just those with criminal records, but they also benefit the business community through a stronger workforce and public safety through reduced recidivism.