Summary: SRES 189 – Fair Chance Jobs Month
SRES 189 is a Senate Resolution introduced on April 30, 2025, that designates a specific period for national recognition and encourages efforts to promote fair-chance employment for individuals affected by incarceration. It is a non-binding resolution, meaning it expresses support and policy preferences rather than creating new law or direct spending.
Purpose and Intent
- Designate April 1–April 30, 2025, as Fair Chance Jobs Month.
- Support initiatives aimed at helping people impacted by incarceration secure stable, high-quality employment and access related needs (housing, healthcare, nutrition).
- Promote dismantling barriers to fair-chance hiring and expanding opportunity for returning citizens and others affected by incarceration.
Key Provisions and Provisions Highlights
The resolution outlines targeted actions and areas for emphasis (A–G):
- (A) Ensure that people directly impacted by incarceration obtain stable and high-quality employment, housing, healthcare, and nutrition.
- (B) Dismantle structural barriers to fair-chance hiring and employment, including licensing restrictions, employer liability concerns, and insurance restrictions.
- (C) Expand workforce development programs for returning citizens and others affected by incarceration, such as:
- Pre-apprenticeship programs
- Registered apprenticeship programs
- Career coaching, résumé-building, technology literacy, and other skill development
- Programs educating employers on best practices and benefits of fair-chance hiring
- (D) Match jobs providers with returning citizens and formerly incarcerated individuals seeking employment.
- (E) Support efforts by labor unions and worker organizations to engage returning citizens and formerly incarcerated individuals seeking jobs.
- (F) Publicize job opportunities open to applicants with prior arrest or conviction records.
- (G) Foster collaboration and dialogue among federal, state, and local agencies, community-based organizations, advocacy groups, employers, labor unions, and currently and formerly incarcerated individuals to enhance fair-chance hiring and heal communities affected by mass incarceration.
Who Is Affected
- Returning citizens and individuals directly impacted by incarceration.
- Employers, job providers, and recruiters seeking to hire individuals with criminal records.
- Labor unions, worker organizations, and advocacy groups.
- Federal, state, and local government agencies and community-based organizations involved in workforce development and anti-discrimination efforts.
Procedural and Timeline Details
- Introduced: April 30, 2025.
- Status: Introduced in the Senate; referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
- Legislative actions noted: Referred to committee on the same day of introduction (and linked text reference S2717–2718).
- Classification: Senate resolution (non-binding).
Sponsors
- Primary sponsor: Edward J. Markey
- Cosponsors: Amy Klobuchar; Elizabeth Warren; Richard J. Durbin; Peter Welch; Tammy Duckworth; Cory Booker; Tina Smith; Alex Padilla; Andy Kim (cosponsor)
Potential Impact
- Raises national awareness about fair-chance hiring and the needs of people affected by incarceration.
- Signals broad political support for reducing barriers to employment for returning citizens.
- Encourages coordination among federal, state, and local governments, along with community and labor organizations, to promote fair-chance hiring practices and related workforce development programs.
- Without new funding, the resolution primarily guides policy emphasis and advocacy rather than creating enforceable requirements.
