This is your opportunity to become a fair chance employer.

What does it mean to be a fair chance employer?

A fair chance employer is a business that provides employment opportunities to individuals with justice-impact, and/or past substance use disorder. Fair chance employers offer our residents hope for a brighter future, empower them to take control of the direction of their lives, and reduce substance use disorder rates and recidivism in our community through gainful employment.

What is a recovery-ready workplace?

Recovery-ready workplaces adopt policies and practices that: 

  • Create job opportunities for those in recovery 

  • Build an understanding atmosphere that reduces stigma towards people with Substance Use Disorder (SUD)

  • Recognize that SUD is a treatable condition and that people in recovery deserve a second chance

  • Create safe environments free of substance misuse 

  • Educate their organization on SUD and facilitate an environment in which respectful and open discussion can occur 

  • Collaborate with employees to accommodate their treatment and 12-step meeting schedules 

  • Follow reasonable accommodations and protections for employees in recovery as dictated by law 

Benefits of a Recovery Ready Workplace 

  • Improves productivity 

  • Expands the labor force 

  • Increases workers’ self-esteem and well-being 

  • Reduces stigma 

  • Reduces recidivism 

  • Reduces turnover 

  • Reduces societal healthcare costs  

Resources

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

Employers may be eligible for a tax credit if they hire an individual who is justice-impacted.

  • Conditions include: Qualified IV-A Recipients (someone receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), Qualified Ex-Felon, Qualified Veterans

  • This process requires pre-screening and certification before the job offer is made.

  • In general, taxable employers may carry the current year's unused WOTC back one year and then forward up to 20 years.

Federal Bonding Program

The federal government provides Fidelity Bonds for hard-to-place job seekers.

  • These bonds protect the employer against losses caused by an at-risk employee for the first 6 months of employment at no cost to the employer.

  • Eligible groups include people in recovery from SUD, and the justice-impacted.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964

  • The Civil Rights Act established legal and ethical provisions that increased equity of opportunity.

  • Blanket policies against hiring specific protected groups, including those in recovery, as well as justice-impacted, may be illegal and in violation of this act.

Contact us.

We’re here to support you on a path to investing further in our great community through our residents.