WASHINGTON BUREAU NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE

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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 nations oldest, largest and most widely-recognized grassrootsbased 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 cities 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 nations largest retailers, including 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.

Thank you again for your leadership and your willingness to forge legislation on this crucial
issue which has bipartisan support. The NAACP is committed to activating our grassroots
membership in addition to our national staff in support of the Fair Chance to Compete for jobs
Act of 2015. Should you have any questions or comments on the NAACP position or activities in
support of this legislation, please feel free to contact me at (202) 463-2940.
Sincerely,

Hilary O. Shelton
Director, NAACP Washington Bureau &
Senior Vice President for Policy and Advocacy