The Goodwill store in Denver, CO. is struggling to find workers.
The Vice President of human resources for Goodwill Colorado, Gary Smith, explains, “This is easily the tightest labor market I’ve ever seen. We’re all struggling, we’re all trying to hire from the same pool of employees.”
While the company has raised wages and offered more benefits, they are still not fully operational. The company is even a second and third chance employer, willing to hire people who can’t get a job anywhere else because of a previous criminal conviction. It’s why Goodwill and three dozen other companies recently supported a bill to offer people a second chance.
Senate Bill 22-099, or the Colorado Clean Slate Act, automatically seals criminal records after a set amount of time, so long as the person has not committed any new offenses.
Breaking the bill down:
For civil infractions: records would be sealed four years after the final disposition.
For petty offenses and misdemeanors: records would be sealed seven years after the final disposition.
For felony offenses: records would be sealed 10 years after the final disposition or after their release from jail, whichever is later.
The law also states employers are not allowed to require applicants to disclose any information contained in sealed criminal justice records.
The law aims to help both employers and employees. The opportunity to find meaningful work and stable housing can secure economic stability. This is what the criminal justice system is supposed to do.
For Goodwill, Smith hopes the new law will also encourage other employers, both local and across other states to take a chance on second and third chance employees, who he calls “reliable and hungry.” These are people who “want to change their lives,” Smith said.
If it works, starting on July 1, 2024, records would be sealed.
