More than half the companies and trade groups in the United States have pledged to higher more people with criminal records.

Johnny C. Taylor Jr., president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management says:

he’s hopeful that the pledge taken by IBM, Walmart, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce will convince more employers to give workers a second chance. - EP Herald Post

The Society for Human Resource Management will soon get info on the over 600,000 people released from prison each year so they can help them find jobs. The idea is that people with jobs are less likely to return to jail and that will, in turn, save about $22K a year in jail costs per inmate. (EPHP)

The article says IBM, Walmart, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are all in agreement on being more open to hiring people with criminal records and are hoping other businesses will follow suit.

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