Hundreds of people looking for a fair chance to work, and businesses committed to evaluating applicants on their skills instead of their pasts, gathered Friday at the County’s annual Fair Chance Workshop and Job Fair.
The annual free event is designed to help people returning to their communities after incarceration by connecting them with employers, resources and on-site job interviews.
Eager jobseekers filled the Tubman Conference Center at the County’s Southeastern Live Well Center, with a line extending out the door early Friday morning.
“This is about hope,” said Branden Butler, director of the County Office of Ethics, Compliance and Labor Standards, as he welcomed participants at the9 a.m. opening workshop. The workshop covered California labor laws, employer rights and ways to prepare job applicants. The job fair ran from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Butler said the event aims to lift people up by creating pathways to employment for people rebuilding their lives.
“This, to me,” he said, “is a great event to give hope, give inspiration that the government is working to make (people’s) lives better — and at the same time bring employers together, to connect folks with work today.”
The event coincided with what has become known nationally as “Second Chance Month” and was organized by the Second Chance, Center for Employment Opportunities, the San Diego Workforce Partnership and the County of San Diego’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement, which helps workers and businesses with wage theft, fair chance hiring and employment laws resources.
Businesses and agencies interviewing job seekers included the County of San Diego’s Department of Human Resources; Aztec landscaping; San Diego Youth Services; Nova Commercial; Pirate Staffing; Intercon Security; the Center for Employment Opportunities; Hope Through Housing; Western Towing and Pacific Clinics.
Fair Chance hiring initiatives across the country aim to reduce barriers to employment, recognizing that steady stable work is a key factor in successful reentry and long-term economic stability.
California implemented its Fair Chance Act in 2018. Congress passed a national “Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act” in 2019. The County implemented its local Fair Chance Ordinance in 2024, covering the county’s unincorporated areas.
Under fair chance laws, and with limited exceptions, employers with more than five employees may not:
- ask about conviction history on job applications.
- run a background check or do an internet search for criminal history before making a job offer.
- include statements in job postings that exclude people with criminal records, such as “No Felons” or “Must Have Clean Record.”
The goal is to ensure people who have been involved in the justice system have an equal opportunity to be evaluated on their skills, qualifications, experience and potential—not their past.
The County Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement helps protect workers and support fair business practices by providing education, resources and enforcement of local labor laws. The office works with community partners to ensure people understand their rights, employers understand their responsibilities, and workplaces across the region remain safe, fair and accessible for everyone.
For more information, visit the County’s Office of Labor Standards and Enforcement webpage and the County’s Fair Chance Ordinance webpage.
