In Missouri, convicted criminals have difficulty finding a job

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Missouri is 3.8%. Some of the unemployed are former prisoners who have difficulty getting a job because of their criminal records.

“It’s a tough fight,” said Maria Maupin.

Maupin was convicted of second-degree burglary and served three and a half years in prison. Finding a job is a condition of her probation, but she also said she wants to work and pay her bills.

“It's almost impossible to find a job these days. Companies want a background and mine is not acceptable. It's definitely frustrating,” she said.

According to an analysis by the Prison Policy Initiative, the unemployment rate for people who have served a prison sentence is 27%. According to the Department of Corrections, the unemployment rate for convicted felons on parole in Missouri is 45%.

In 2021, the city of St. Louis passed a “Ban the Box” ordinance prohibiting employers from asking applicants about their criminal past on their first job application. Maupin said employers often get around the restriction by saying they plan to run a background check and asking if there is anything she wants to disclose up front.

There are companies willing to give convicted felons a second chance. Ross Friederich is at Final Clean in House Springs.

“I believe everyone deserves a chance,” he said.

Friederich said his company currently employs people with criminal records and he would not hold this against a potential new employee.

“We don't really look at people's past, we try to judge them by what they are capable of now or what they are doing now,” he said.

Maupin said she wanted to be seen for who she was, not who she was.

“The fact that I am young and stupid should not affect me anymore because I am an adult now, I have served my time and paid for my crime.”

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, it takes an average of over six months for a former inmate to find his or her first job after being released from prison.

Maupin said she may work sporadically as a tiler until she finds full-time employment.

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