PA Chamber President and CEO Luke Bernstein led a panel discussion at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s “Reimagining Futures” forum in Washington, D.C. last week. The panel, titled “The Business Case for Second-Chance Hiring,” explored how businesses can address workforce shortages by employing individuals with nonviolent criminal records.
Bernstein began by outlining the workforce challenges facing both Pennsylvania and the nation. “Pennsylvania has 66 available workers for every 100 open jobs,” he said, citing a U.S. Chamber study. “Nationally, we have 8.2 million open jobs and just 7.2 million unemployed workers. That means if every unemployed person went out and found a job tomorrow, we would still have a million openings.”
He highlighted how criminal justice reform initiatives can and should be part of a broader strategy to address workforce challenges. Bernstein specifically cited Pennsylvania’s first-in-the-nation Clean Slate law, which has sealed the old criminal records of more than 1.2 million reformed Pennsylvanians, encouraging them to seek employment and helping employers fill job gaps. The law has been so popular among job seekers and employers that it has been cited as a national model and expanded twice.
Panelists included Shea Zwerver, workforce relations manager for Flagger Force (PA Chamber Investor Member), Nan Gibson of JPMorgan Chase’s Policy Center, and Dan Letchinger, senior vice president at Flower Foods. They shared how second-chance hiring has positively impacted their organizations and employees.
The discussion centered on how businesses can benefit from expanding their hiring practices to include individuals with criminal records while contributing to positive social outcomes for formerly incarcerated individuals. Panelists encouraged other companies to explore second chance hiring to meet their workforce needs while creating meaningful change.
The PA Chamber is proud to support second chance hiring as part of a broader strategy to ensure a skilled, competitive workforce for the future. Other elements of this strategy include efforts in education, childcare, housing affordability, and supporting mass transit. To learn more about our workforce advocacy, please click here.