SALT LAKE CITY — A unique employer forum happening Thursday in Salt Lake City has a goal to help those looking to hire learn how to support and hire convicted felons in Utah.
Utah's unemployment rate remains below 1.5 percent and according to experts, finding adequate candidates to fill open jobs remains a challenge.
On Thursday, the "Dollars and Sense" employer forum will encourage those with a criminal past to venture back into the workforce.
Mickey Jacobs once served 18 months in federal prison for a white-collar, financial crime.
She explained that doing the time was almost easy compared to looking for a job after her release.
“I couldn’t get Denny’s to hire me to wash dishes,” she told FOX 13 News.
Jacobs said her struggle originated from a little box she had to check on job applications that said she was a convicted felon.
“One of the main predictors, if not, the number one predictor for people returning to prison is the lack of gainful employment…so it is a big issue," she said.
Following a series of part-time jobs, Jacobs caught a break when an employer starting up a tech company in Utah County decided to take a chance and allow Jacobs to do the marketing.
“Makes me think there’s probably an opportunity with lots of people out there that made a mistake and have a checkered past, but are trying to get on the right path," explained Joe Strom, who hired Jacobs at his startup.
The job completely changed Jacobs' life and allowed Strom for a moment of reflection.
“We have a culture of repentance or atonement, but do we really live it," he asked. "So that was kind of an eye-opener for me. It’s like, if I really believe that then we should give these people an opportunity.”
The forum for other employers is happening from 9 a.m. to noon at the Little America Hotel.
Employers are encouraged to attend and learn about benefits as well as tips for hiring formerly incarcerated candidates.
