- JPMorgan Chase announced that 10% of its 2018 hires had criminal records. These are the details about this hiring program.
JPMorgan Chase is one of the biggest companies that is supporting the removal of questions about convictions and arrests from job applications. And JPMorgan hired around 2,100 people in the U.S. with criminal records in 2018.
“We saw last year that 10% of new hires in the U.S. were people with criminal backgrounds,” said Heather Higginbottom, President of the JPMorgan Chase PolicyCenter, in an interview with CNBC.
Many of JPMorgan’s new hires with criminal backgrounds work in entry-level positions like transaction processing, and lending and account services. These workers have been arrested or convicted of low-level crimes, including disorderly conduct, personal drug possession, and driving under the influence.
“We have ‘banned the box’ as a firm, which means we’ve removed the checkbox asking about criminal backgrounds on an application,” added Higginbottom on CNBC’s Squawk Box. “We have federal regulations that we abide by, of course, and we always want to find the best person for the job. We’re not lowering our standards,” she said. “We’re just going out in a broader way.”
1 out of every 3 Americans has a criminal record. And this record is often considered a barrier to employment.
Prior to joining JPMorgan, Higginbottom worked as the chief operating officer of Care USA. And Higginbottom also worked in the Obama administration as a deputy budget director and a deputy secretary of State.
The objective of the JPMorgan PolicyCenter is to deliver value to customers and employees rather than just shareholder value. Plus the PolicyCenter will also ensure that the company will deal ethically with suppliers and support outside communities.
Along with the PolicyCenter, JPMorgan is making a $7 million investment in community centers in Chicago, Detroit, Nashville, New York, Seattle, and Wilmington, Delaware. Higginbottom’s team is also being managed by Peter L. Scher, Head of Corporate Responsibility and Chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Region at JPMorgan.
JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon is also the Chairman of Business Roundtable (BRT). The BRT is a group of CEOs that represent nearly 200 major U.S. companies. Dimon has been vocal on the subject.
“Major employers are investing in their workers and communities because they know it is the only way to be successful over the long term. These modernized principles reflect the business community’s unwavering commitment to continue to push for an economy that serves all Americans,” explained Dimon in a BRT press release earlier this year.
