The CEO of JPMorgan said Monday that he wants his bank to provide more of their entry-level jobs to those with criminal histories.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a press release that he wants to provide more entry-level jobs — such as account servicing and transaction processing — to those with prior convictions.
“When someone cannot get their foot in the door to compete for a job, it is bad for business and bad for communities that need access to economic opportunity,” he said, according to CNN Business.
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The bank says it’s banned asking potential employees whether they’ve committed a crime, a question on most job applications that it says has left an estimated 27% of capable workers with criminal histories unemployed.
JPMorgan said that the U.S. economy loses $78 billion to $87 billion by preventing former convicts to apply, and studies have shown providing those with criminal histories opportunities has decreased reoffending.
“Jamie [Dimon] believes, and we believe as a firm, that business has an important role to play in building a more inclusive economy,” President of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter Heather Higginbottom said, though she said they’re “not lowering our hiring standards.”
JPMorgan has already begun hiring those with a criminal history, reporting that 2,100 people they hired last year — 10% of their new employees — had convictions for DUIs, drug possession and disorderly conduct.
They added they will be supporting programs to help people get their criminal records expunged — which studies show only 6.5% of eligible offenders do.
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