On April 12, Governor Cooper proclaimed that April 2021 is Second Chance Month in North Carolina. As stated in the proclamation, “formerly incarcerated individuals face many hurdles in securing employment, housing, transportation, and health care, made even more challenging during a global health crisis.” Furthermore, “efforts are underway at the federal, state, and local levels to establish programs and policies focused on removing the barriers that prevent formerly incarcerated people from pursuing healthy and productive lives”.
Governor Cooper’s proclamation further reinforces his stance of enacting Fair Chance Hiring laws. In November 2020, the Governor issued an executive order that banned most state agencies from asking about an applicant’s criminal record until the person has received an interview. This is in an effort to ensure candidates are not screened out of the hiring process before they have an opportunity to prove their merit. While this order was only enacted for state agencies, private employers may wish to review their process to stay in line with the current best practices and prepare for future updates. Click here to read Governor Cooper’s full proclamation and here for more information about Ban the Box.
If you’re a NC employer and would like to audit your screening process, contact CRC’s sales team at (877) 272-0266
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