Philly Offers Employers Money to Hire Ex-Cons

Suppose a city was giving out money and nobody showed up to claim it.   That is not exactly the case with Philadelphia’s new employment program.   But close enough.

According to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer, the City of Brotherly Love offered employers a $10,000 tax credit for three years for each former felon that employer hired.   This was an initiative to help reduce the crime rate in the city of my birth.  But…not takers.

There are some speed bumps with this initiative.   The first being the company that does the hiring will be publicly named.   Some employers balked at that.   The second, and probably the more significant, is that the employer would have had to pay the ex-offenders 150% of the minimum federal hourly wage,  which would be more than  than some companies pay their union workers.   They believe, and justly so, that it would be bad for morale and a dozen other things to pay union workers less than the ex-offenders.

The employers must pay out $2,000 in tuition support and vow to remain in Philadelphia for at least five years.   Other employers claimed they had considered the proposal but since they are laying off and not hiring, the tax credit initiative doesn’t come at the best of economic times.  If the economy turns around, some said they would consider hirin ex-offenders.

What will be interesting is how background checks will be conducted.   Surely there is no surprise the employment candidates will have criminal records.  But then what is the threshold for hiring?   There is a notable difference between hardened felons and someone with a misdemeanor or two.

I’m all ofr giving people a second chance.   The Philadelphia tax credit does show…well…initiative.   But when no one takes you up on getting a $10 thousand tax credit something is wrong with the proposal.  Maybe it is time to revise it and make it more attractive.   And then when the economy turns around, employers may go for the program

Check them out before you hire.