Recent Tragic Events and Checkr's Mission: Unblocking 1 Million People
We wanted to take a moment to talk openly about the recent tragedies and civil unrest that are gripping our country.
We stand in solidarity with the Black community and in support of those seeking justice for the devastating murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and too many more who’ve lost their lives to violence and hate. These deaths, coupled with the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black communities, have made cracks in our social justice system impossible to ignore.
At Checkr, we’ve focused our mission and efforts on improving fairness for all people and providing equal access to employment. We’ve seen firsthand how gaps in the criminal justice system negatively impact Black people and contribute to systemic racial discrimination in our country. We know that bias and racism is engrained in each part of the system, from arrest to conviction to re-entry.
Checkr has worked to make an impact on one part of that system in two ways: first, by changing people’s views and biases around criminal records through education and data, and second, by helping people with records get access to employment and reducing recidivism. However, there is still a lot more work to be done. Fair access to employment is only possible if we reduce bias and racism in businesses.
That’s why our goal of opening opportunities for 1 million people who face barriers to employment this year is more important than ever. But we can’t get there alone. More companies need to start thinking about and adopting fairer hiring practices, or what’s known as fair chance hiring.
That means taking a hard, honest look at your own hiring process—and starting to break down the stigmas associated with hiring people with criminal records.
We understand this new way of thinking requires quite a bit of education and understanding to implement. That’s why we’ve compiled a few resources to help start the conversation and recommended additional steps you can take to help drive change at your company:
- Walk in the shoes of someone reentering society, and discover the barriers to reclaiming normalcy, including the challenges of securing a stable job, a place to live, and support networks. Then, ask your whole team to walk in these shoes.
- Read more about fair chance hiring and its benefits. Better yet, share this article with your CHRO or CEO.
- Learn about our adjudication tools and how adopting them can help open up opportunities at your company. Then, work with your HR Ops and legal teams to implement these features.
- Get certified in conducting individualized assessment using the factors recommended by the EEOC.
- Practice individualized assessment at your company with empathy and understanding.
It’s more important than ever for us to come together as a community and drive real change. Let’s work together to open up access to employment for 1 million people and lay the groundwork for a fairer future. To learn more about fair chance hiring, please visit https://fair.checkr.com/.