Hot Chicken Takeover CEO Phil Petrilli is a restaurant industry leader with more than 30 years of experience growing national and small-scale fast casual brands.
Ohio businesses continue to face challenges recruiting and retaining top talent.
Companies like Intel, Honda, and LG Energy have invested heavily in the state but face recruitment challenges. He has only 62 workers available for 100 jobs.
As Gov. Mike DeWine noted in addressing the workforce shortage, “Ohio is creating more jobs than we can fill.”
As business leaders, we have a responsibility to look for innovative and scalable solutions to help solve this problem. Start Fair Opportunity Recruitment.
At Hot Chicken Takeover, we've seen the benefits of bringing people back into the workplace who might otherwise remain marginalized, including the formerly incarcerated. This is especially important for individuals with criminal records. Old records show he has more than 40,000 collateral impacts, creating significant barriers to employment and meaningful re-entry.
We believe that companies can also greatly benefit from recruiting from this talent pool.
Employers who employ justice-impacted workers report that the quality of their work and contributions are equal to or better than that of other employees, and that they have significantly lower turnover rates.
Data shows that fair chance hires have lower turnover rates than other employees, saving companies and their HR departments valuable time and money. Fair-chance hiring can also create a snowball effect. 73% of employees say they want to work for a company that uses fair hiring practices.
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While there are important steps forward that companies can take on their own, employers must also advocate for removing the barriers this population faces, such as debt-related driver's license suspensions.
Senate Bill 37 is a common-sense solution that will ensure hard-working Ohioans continue to contribute to our economy and communities.
More than 80% of Ohioans commute to work by car.
A valid driver's license is an essential element to participate in the economy. But we constantly take drivers off the road and out of the labor market for reasons that have nothing to do with driving. In Ohio, failure to pay debts can result in license suspension and people losing their jobs.
This unnecessarily reduces your ability to pay and often increases your debt as interest and penalties continue to accrue. More than 3 million Ohio drivers are suspended each year for debt-related reasons, resulting in more than $900 million in debt each year.
That debt is borne disproportionately by Ohioans who are least able to pay, especially people of color.
Residents in Ohio's highest poverty ZIP codes lose an average of $7.9 million each year due to debt-related suspensions, and neighborhoods with the highest percentages of people of color lose an average of $12 million each year. It has occurred.
On the contrary, restoring these licenses would benefit everyone. One study found that restoring just 7,000 licenses resulted in an estimated $249.6 million increase in GDP.
Debt-related suspensions affect Fair Chance employees.
They are also a barrier to future fair-chance employers. Even if a company wants to tap into the judicially affected talent pool and give returning citizens a meaningful second chance, if a candidate is unable to get a job because of a suspended license. It's impossible.
As the labor shortage continues, it is more important than ever for Congress to act and ensure that employers can take advantage of this skilled, hard-working and dedicated talent pool.
The benefits extend beyond the financial. The number one factor in preventing recidivism is maintaining gainful employment. By keeping drivers on our roads and jobs, and by hiring people with criminal records, we can actually make Ohio a safer place to live and work.
If Ohio is to solve workforce shortages, improve community safety, and put justice-impacted Ohioans back to work, the state must achieve transportation and commuting equity.
Senate Bill 37 is a common-sense solution that will ensure hard-working Ohioans continue to contribute to our economy and communities. I urge Congress to pass this bill.
Hot Chicken Takeover CEO Phil Petrilli is a restaurant industry leader with more than 30 years of experience growing national and small-scale fast casual brands.