MAYOR GARCETTI PARTNERS IN NEW EFFORT TO GIVE ANGELENOS A SECOND CHANCE

Mayor Eric Garcetti launched a partnership with 70MillionJobs.com, the first online job board to match formerly incarcerated individuals seeking work with employers interested in hiring qualified applicants of all backgrounds.

“People who have served time and are returning home deserve an opportunity to make a fresh start, prove themselves in the workforce, and earn a good living for themselves and their families,” said Mayor Garcetti. “This platform will help transform lives by opening up connections to employers who are willing to give qualified applicants a second chance.”

As part of a three-month pilot program with the Mayor’s Office, the site will allow Los Angeles employers to post a limitless number of jobs. In turn, job seekers will receive text notifications about new opportunities and can upload video resumes that are forwarded directly to employers. Most of the applicants enrolled during the pilot period will be affiliated with community-based organizations in the L.A. area and have received job readiness training.

About one in four adults in California has an arrest or conviction record, which creates significant barriers to employment. According to a recent study, up to 80% of Los Angeles employers are unwilling to hire formerly incarcerated individuals. Research has also shown that providing employment opportunities to formerly incarcerated individuals is one of the most cost-effective ways to reduce recidivism and make communities safer. The state’s average recidivism rate is 65 percent, but for individuals who secure jobs shortly after release, it drops to as low as 3%.

Removing barriers to employment is one of Mayor Garcetti’s top priorities. In April 2016, the Mayor signed an Equitable Workforce Executive Directive, instructing City departments to prioritize L.A.’s most underemployed communities — including veterans, the formerly incarcerated, and disconnected youth — in the hiring of about 5,000 new workers over the next three years.

The Mayor’s Office of Reentry has also partnered with Caltrans to employ more than 1,300 formerly incarcerated people over the next three years. And last year, Mayor Garcetti formed a Blue Ribbon Commission on Employment Equity — an alliance of private and public sector employers committed to providing opportunities for the formerly incarcerated and others who have been historically excluded from upwardly-mobile jobs.

“Unemployment and recidivism are huge challenges that ruin lives, families and cities like Los Angeles,” said Richard Bronson, co-founder and CEO of 70MillionJobs.com. “This pilot program represents an effective partnership of government, non-profit and for-profit businesses, committed to short circuit the pernicious cycle of recidivism.”

70MillionJobs.com, the City of Los Angeles and all partner employers comply with all City and State laws pertaining to the use of criminal records in hiring. To post a job, go to 70MillionJobs.com. For more information, contact info@70MillionJobs.com.