Does Kelly Services hire people with felonies?

What Kelly Services has said

Kelly Services has publicly committed to hiring people with criminal records: it is a Second Chance Business Coalition member (announced as a new member in April 2022) and runs Kelly 33, a Second Chances program it describes as finding and placing candidates with non-violent, non-relevant criminal backgrounds with employers. In its 2021 launch release Kelly said it screened candidates' criminal records individually when placing them at a Toyota plant in Kentucky, and that it had changed its own hiring practices as part of a broader effort to remove hiring barriers. As a staffing company, its screening depends on the client: Kelly says background and drug screenings are done where applicable or on request, following the client's requirements and U.S. law. Job openings for placements are behind Kelly's job portal, so we couldn't read postings for assignments.

• Second Chance Business Coalition member

  Listed as a member of the Second Chance Business Coalition (shown on the member list as Kelly).¹

• Scbc join announcement

  The coalition's April 26, 2022 release names Kelly Services among seven companies that had recently joined, bringing membership to 42.²

• Second-chance hiring program

  Kelly's Kelly 33 Second Chances program page says the program finds and hires candidates with criminal histories for employers, and Kelly's 2021 launch release says it connects job seekers with a non-violent, non-relevant criminal background with employers. It was launched after a Kelly partnership with a Toyota plant in Georgetown, Kentucky; Kelly said it reviews criminal records individually under EEOC's Green Factors for those placements.³

• Company statement

  Kelly's Equity@Work page says it is dedicated to removing hiring barriers, including for people with a criminal history, and says Kelly 33 finds and hires those candidates. The 2021 release adds that Kelly changed its own hiring practices; it lists second-chance hiring alongside other barriers such as degree requirements and doesn't describe the changes.⁴

Does Kelly Services do background checks?

Kelly Services runs background checks for some roles. Kelly's Professional & Industrial screening page says background and drug screenings are done where applicable or upon request, according to the client's requirements and applicable U.S. laws, and its process lists background and reference checks in the qualify phase, before onboarding. Kelly's 2021 release says it does individualized screenings of criminal records for its Toyota placements. Kelly hasn't published what its background check covers, how far back it looks, who runs it or exactly when it happens.^3,5

• Criminal history
• Drug screen

• How long a background check takes

Does Kelly Services drug test?

Kelly Services drug tests for some roles. Kelly's Professional & Industrial screening page says drug screenings are conducted where applicable or upon request, according to the client's requirements and U.S. laws. Kelly doesn't list which assignments require a test.⁵

Hiring programs

• Kelly 33 Second Chances Program

  A program run through Kelly's Outsourcing & Consulting Group that Kelly says finds and hires candidates with criminal histories for client employers. Kelly's 2021 launch release says it targets candidates with a non-violent, non-relevant criminal background and followed a placement program at a Toyota plant in Kentucky; the program page is written for employers and doesn't list how job seekers apply.⁶

Rules for specific jobs

• Assignments with Kelly's client businesses

  Kelly's screening page says screening follows each client's requirements, so what is checked can differ by assignment and client.⁵

Your rights, and how far back a check can go

• Under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), an employer must get your written permission before it gets a background report about you from a background screening company.^12,13,14
• Before an employer decides not to hire, keep, or promote you because of something in a background report, it must give you a copy of the report and a document called "A Summary of Your Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act."^12,13
• You have the right to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information in your background report directly with the company that made it.^12,15
• The FCRA's seven-year limit does not apply to criminal convictions, so under federal law a conviction can show up on a background report no matter how old it is.^16,17
• Under the FCRA, background and credit reports generally cannot include arrest records, civil lawsuits, or civil judgments that are more than seven years old (or older than the statute of limitations, if that is longer).^16,18

Your full background check rights

Before you apply

• You can ask a background screening company for the information it has on you, and the CFPB keeps a list of consumer reporting companies, including employment screening companies, with their contact details.^12,15,19
• According to the Clean Slate Initiative, 14 states and Washington, D.C. have passed Clean Slate laws that meet its criteria for automatically clearing eligible records: Pennsylvania, Utah, New Jersey, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware, Virginia, California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Minnesota, New York, Illinois, and Missouri, plus D.C.²⁰
• The Federal Bonding Program, run by the U.S. Department of Labor, lets states give employers free fidelity bonds that protect them against losses from a newly hired worker's dishonest acts, for job seekers with past justice involvement or in recovery from substance use.^21,22

See whether you can clear your record in your state