Fair Chance Month Kickoff- The Talent Pool Tech is Ignoring (And It's Costing Us)

The Numbers Don't Lie

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the tech sector will add roughly 317,700 new job openings every year through 2034. Source: BLS

At the same time, according to the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated people face an unemployment rate of over 27% — higher than the total U.S. unemployment rate during any point in American history, including the Great Depression. Source: Prison Policy Initiative

And according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, more than 93% of formerly incarcerated people between the ages of 25 and 44 are actively working or looking for work — a higher labor force participation rate than the general public's 84%. Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Read that again. Formerly incarcerated people want to work more than average Americans do. They're just not getting the chance.

The Barriers Are Artificial

There are nearly 48,000 collateral consequences — laws, regulations, and restrictions — that limit employment opportunities for people with records, according to a 2024 Senate resolution from Senators Markey and Klobuchar introducing Fair Chance Jobs Month legislation. Source: Senator Markey's Office

That's not a safety measure. That's a system designed to keep people out.

And tech — for all its talk about democratizing opportunity — has been complicit. According to JUST Capital's analysis of the Russell 1000, less than 5% of America's largest employers have a publicly disclosed fair chance hiring policy. Source: JUST Capital

Software companies appear on that list. But not nearly enough of them.

What Employers Get Wrong

The assumption is that hiring formerly incarcerated people is a risk.

The data says the opposite.

Research consistently shows that justice-impacted employees demonstrate higher retention rates and lower turnover than the general workforce. And according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, formerly incarcerated people who maintain employment for one year post-release have a recidivism rate of just 16% — compared to 52% for those who can't find work. Source: U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Let that land: employment doesn't just change a career. It breaks the cycle entirely.

And in a tech industry where turnover costs range from 50% to 250% of an employee's annual salary, loyalty isn't a nice-to-have. It's a business advantage. Source: Grid Dynamics

We're Not Waiting for the Industry to Figure This Out

At Banyan Labs, we're building this into how we operate — not as a PR move, but because we've seen what happens when you give talented people a real shot. We understand that employment is a foundational piece of true rehabiliation and transformation, and we're doing something about it!

Through our partnership with Persevere, we work directly with justice-impacted individuals learning to code inside correctional facilities and transitioning into real tech careers. These aren't charity hires. These are developers who've earned their skills under circumstances most of us couldn't imagine.

And they show up differently. With drive. With gratitude. With something to prove — and the work ethic to prove it.

Tech loves to talk about "non-traditional backgrounds." Here's one that actually means something.

Three Things You Can Do Right Now

1. Remove the box. If your hiring process asks about criminal history before an interview, you're filtering out candidates before they ever get to show what they can do. Change that.

2. Partner with reentry programs. Organizations like Persevere are already doing the training work. They need employers willing to hire graduates. The pipeline exists — the door just needs to open.

3. Audit your policies publicly. Commit to fair chance hiring in writing. JUST Capital found that companies who publicly disclose these policies tend to be leaders in workforce equity overall. Disclosure creates accountability.

The Bottom Line

Fair Chance Month isn't a charity campaign. It's a call to fix a broken system that's costing the industry talent, costing individuals opportunity, and costing communities the stability that comes from people having jobs they can build a life around.

Tech has always prided itself on solving hard problems. This one isn't even that hard. The talent is there. The motivation is there.

The only thing missing is the will to hire.

We're building that at Banyan Labs. If you want to talk about what fair chance hiring looks like in practice — or learn more about partnering with Persevere — let's connect.