FOR EMPLOYERS
HIRING PEOPLE
WITH RECORDS.
This page is not an appeal to your better nature. It is a hiring argument, with the risks named, the federal programs explained, and a process you can actually run.
The argument, in business terms
You are competing for people who will show up. Every employer in South Carolina running a shift-based operation is in the same fight, and most of you are losing it to a labor pool that turns over faster than you can train.
There is a candidate population that is systematically underpriced. Men coming home from incarceration are screened out at the checkbox stage, usually before a human reads anything else in the file. Whatever you believe about the policy of that, the market consequence is straightforward: a group of motivated workers is available to employers willing to run a process most of their competitors will not.
That is the whole case. Not a favor, not a gesture. A hiring channel with less competition, which you de-risk with tools that already exist.
Two federal programs most employers have never used
Both are real, both are federal, and both are administered in South Carolina through the Department of Employment and Workforce.
The Federal Bonding Program
Free fidelity bonds of $5,000 for employers who hire people considered high-risk to place. The bond functions as insurance against employee dishonesty — theft, forgery, larceny, embezzlement. It costs the employer nothing and is not an insurance policy you have to shop for. South Carolina contact: FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov.
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit
A federal tax credit of up to $2,400 for employers who hire people who were formerly incarcerated, among other targeted groups. It is a credit against federal tax liability and it has filing deadlines tied to the hire date, which is where most employers lose it. South Carolina contact: WOTC@dew.sc.gov.
Program rules, amounts, eligibility categories and deadlines change. Confirm the current terms with DEW and with your own CPA before you build them into an offer. Nothing on this page is tax or legal advice.
If this was useful, the full story behind this work goes deeper.
What employers actually worry about
The objections are reasonable. Pretending otherwise is how these conversations get dismissed.
“What if he steals?” That is precisely the exposure the Federal Bonding Program was built to cover. Beyond the bond, the answer is the same as for every hire: access controls, separation of duties, and not putting anybody's character in the position of being the only safeguard.
“What about negligent hiring liability?” A real legal concept and a real reason to run a documented, consistent process rather than an ad hoc one. The relevant question is whether the specific offense bears on the specific duties. A twelve-year-old drug conviction and a forklift job are not related; a fraud conviction and an accounts payable role obviously are. Ask your employment counsel how to document that assessment in your state.
“What will my team say?” Usually less than you expect, and less if you do not announce it. A new hire's record is his information. Introduce him as a new hire.
“What about my customers?” A fair concern in in-home services and regulated settings. Some roles genuinely are not appropriate, and saying so is legitimate. Most roles are not those roles.
“What if he does not last?” Some will not. Compare that honestly against your existing turnover rate rather than against an imaginary reliable candidate, and compare it against the cost of an unfilled shift.
What a fair-chance process actually looks like
- Move the record question later. Screen for the job first. Ask about record after a conditional offer or at interview, not on the initial application.
- Assess the individual, not the category. What was the offense, how long ago, what has happened since, and does it bear on these duties. Write the reasoning down.
- Apply one standard to everyone. Inconsistency is both the legal risk and the cultural one.
- Set the bond and credit up before day one. Both have timing requirements. Contact DEW at the addresses above while the offer is being made, not after.
- Name the supervision reality. He may have a reporting appointment or a testing requirement. Agree the schedule accommodation up front rather than discovering it as a no-show.
- Give the first ninety days structure. Clear expectations, a named person to ask, and a check-in at week two. That is good onboarding for anyone; it is decisive here.
What is asked of you, and what is not
Kingdom Alliance is not asking you to lower a standard, keep somebody who is not working out, or make an exception. Lowered standards are obvious to everybody on the floor within a week, and they insult the man more than a rejection would.
The ask is narrower. One opening, run through a real process, where a record is assessed rather than assumed. If he is not right for the role, say so — that is a normal hiring outcome and it is survivable.
SC Works career centers, run by the Department of Employment and Workforce, are worth knowing as a separate channel; they provide job search assistance, interview preparation and skills training, including services delivered to people still incarcerated. If you want to talk about a specific opening, get in touch. Nobody will ask you for money.
Frequently asked
Questions people actually ask
What is the Federal Bonding Program?
A federal program providing free fidelity bonds of $5,000 to employers who hire people considered high-risk to place, as insurance against employee dishonesty. In South Carolina the contact is FederalBonding@dew.sc.gov. Confirm current terms with the agency.
How much is the Work Opportunity Tax Credit?
Up to $2,400 for hiring someone who was formerly incarcerated, as a federal credit against tax liability. There are filing deadlines tied to the hire date. South Carolina contact: WOTC@dew.sc.gov. Confirm the current rules with DEW and your own CPA.
Do I have to tell my team about someone's record?
No, and generally you should not. It is the employee's information. Introduce a new hire as a new hire and let him decide what he shares.
Can I still run background checks?
Yes. Fair-chance hiring is about when you ask and how you weigh the answer, not about abandoning screening. Apply the same process to every candidate and document the reasoning, and take your own employment counsel on the specifics.
What if it does not work out?
Then it does not work out, and you manage it exactly as you would any other hire. Nobody is asking you to keep someone who is not doing the job.
Are you asking employers for money?
No. There is no financial ask anywhere in this work. The ask is a fair-chance opening and an honest process.
Make your next move
A year from now, what will you be glad you started today?
You don't need another promise that everything will be easy. You need something useful to learn — and a next step you're willing to take.