September 8, 2015 The Honorable Elijah Cummings U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 201515 The Honorable Cory Booker United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510

RE: NAACP SUPPORT FOR THE

FAIR CHANCE TO COMPETE FOR JOBS ACT OF 2015

Dear Senator Booker and Congressman Cummings;

On behalf of the NAACP, our nation’s oldest, lar

gest and most widely-recognized grassroots-based civil rights organization, I would like to thank you for your leadership by introducing the

Fair Chance to Compete for jobs Act of 2015

. This seminal legislation would provide job applicants who may have criminal histories the opportunity to prove themselves on their merits, skills, and other qualifications. This legislation is especially important to the communities served and represented by the NAACP, since more than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities and the unemployment rate among African American men remains nearly double the national average.

The NAACP has a long and solid history of supporting “Ban the Box” policies in hiring at the

local, state, and federal level. We have also worked with large private companies to encourage them to change their application processes. In response to efforts including those launched by the NAACP,

elected officials from across the political spectrum have embraced “fair chance”

hiring reforms. These reforms restore hope and opportunity to qualified job-seekers with an arrest or conviction record who struggle against significant odds to find work and give back to their communities. More than 100 jurisdictions, including 13 states, the District of Columbia, and 96 citi

es and counties, have adopted “Ban the Box” and other fair chance hiring reforms.

Six states already extend the policy to both public and private sector employers, and a growing

number of the nation’s largest retailers, includi

ng Walmart and Target, have adopted fair chance hiring measures as well. Almost one in three adults in the United States has a record that will show up on a routine criminal background check; this ratio is much higher for racial and ethnic minorities. By prohibiting the federal government, as well as federal contractors, from inquiring about past criminal histories in the initial phases of a job interview, your legislation leads by example. It also ensures that people will not be pre-judged when applying for employment.

WASHINGTON BUREAU ∙

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

1156 15

TH

 STREET, NW SUITE 915

∙ WASHINGTON, DC 20005 ∙ P (202

) 463-2940

∙ F (202) 463

-2953 E-MAIL: WASHINGTONBUREAU@NAACPNET.ORG

∙ WEB ADDRESS WWW.NA

 ACP.ORG