In a time when it’s hard for just about anyone to find a job, Congress is giving special attention to some of the hardest-hit: ex-offenders.

On Tuesday, the Subcommittee on Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia, a division of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a hearing on Capitol Hill entitled, “An Examination of Federal Employment Practices/Policies on Hiring Ex-Offenders.”

“This hearing today is about determining if the Federal government is practicing the politics of giving ex-offenders the real opportunity at living the best life they can live,” said Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Danny Davis (D-IL).

Rep. Davis also sponsored the Second Chance Act of 2007, which was signed by the President in April of this year and provides grants to States and local areas to address critical services such as drug and mental health treatment, education opportunities, and housing for ex-offenders returning to their communities.

With more than 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States has more people incarcerated than any other country in the world.  Nearly 650,000 prisoners are released from federal and state correctional facilities every year, but because of the difficulties in maintaining a stable lifestyle, 50 percent go back to jail within three years.  

One of the greatest difficulties, Davis says, is getting a job.  Many businesses and organizations discourage or outright refuse to hire ex-offenders, regardless of how long ago they committed their crime or what they have done to improve and demonstrate their character since.  Employer resistance is compounded by set federal regulations that prohibit ex-offenders from applying for certain jobs, including positions in finance, insurance, health care, truck driving, and unions.

"People with criminal histories actually have to contend with being locked out of potentially thousands of employment opportunities," said Roberta Meyers-Peeples, the director of the organization H.I.R.E., or Helping Individuals with criminal records Reenter through Employment.

Meyers-Peeples, who testified before the Subcommittee, noted that even when ex-offenders are qualified for a job, they are often passed over because of their history.  Many industries put on the beginning of their job applications a question asking whether or not a person has a criminal record.  Many employers will base their hiring decision on the answer, regardless of how the crime committed is related to the job, how long ago it occurred, or the offender's age upon conviction.

"The problem is many people with criminal records, they don't get to the point of being judged on merits and their qualifications.  They check off a box saying they have a criminal record, and that's where it stops," she said.

The hearing paid particular attention to the government's hiring practices as well.  Nancy Kichak, the associate director of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) testified before the Subcommittee.  She said that while it is the policy of the federal government to employ rehabilitated offenders, and while OPM and USAJOBS do not ask if potential employers have a criminal record, she could not answer which agencies do and do not ask this on their applications.

While all the agencies once used the same application to hire employees, in the 1990s, this application was discarded in favor of each office creating their own.  The policy shift caused a bureaucratic nightmare, one ramification of which is that OPM no longer keeps track of what is on each of these applications.

Rep. Eleanor Norton (D-DC) was not happy with Associate Director Kichak’s response.

“Do you have any idea which agencies don’t ask that question? Do you have any idea for what jobs this question might be considered irrelevant?”  Norton asked.

Kichak was only able respond on behalf of OPM and USAJOBS.