Is there a List Of Companies That Hire Sex Offenders? Yes and No.
As a sex offender, you face enormous difficulties when it comes to finding gainful employment.
There’s no way to sugarcoat this. It shouldn’t be so difficult. But it is what it is.
If you’re fresh out of prison and just getting to grips with navigating the wider world as a sex offender, you are probably shocked at how easily employers can legally discriminate against you. Even if you didn’t have to serve a custodial sentence, you’ll still be discriminated against.
What you desperately need is for someone to give you a second chance, so you’re scouring the internet looking for a list of employers that hire sex offenders.
Or maybe you’re trying to help your registered sex offender friend or family member find a job, and your search isn’t producing many viable options.
Perhaps you’re a sex offender that has managed to secure a few jobs in the past but each job didn’t stick for one reason or another, and now you’re facing the unenviable task of convincing another employer to take you on.
Whatever your situation, we’ll do our best to provide you with some solid leads in this article.
Is There A List Of Companies That Hire Sex Offenders in 2024?
Yes, and no.
You will definitely come across lists of companies that may hire sex offenders. But there are a few problems with those lists.
First, these are reworked lists of companies that hire felons. And you’ve probably realized that when it comes to employment opportunities, there’s a world of difference between being ‘just’ a felon and being a sex offender.
Second, just like there’s a wide range of offences that are classed as felonies, there’s a wide range of sexual offenses. From a class A sexual offence felony all the way down to misdemeanors.
With companies that hire felons, some will hire a felony DUI or drug possession but they won’t touch a felony drug distribution or fraud.
And when it comes to sex offenders, some will provide jobs for sexual offenders on the mild end of the spectrum but they will refuse to hire people with more serious offences on their records.
Third, some companies operate as franchises. So the owner of the franchise decides on the hiring policy. Wendy’s appears on the list of jobs that hire sex offenders, and it’s a franchise operator. So you can’t assume that the Wendy’s in your town will hire you because a Wendy’s across the country hired a sex offender once.
Generally speaking, don’t trust lists of sex offender jobs unless your probation or parole officer has given the list to you. You’ll waste your time and drain your hope by applying for jobs that you’ll never get.
That’s not what you want to hear obviously. But don’t despair. We’re not done.
What Jobs Hire Sex Offenders?
What jobs hire sex offenders? To be perfectly honest with you, your best chance of finding jobs that hire sex offenders near me is to start small and local.
Big companies routinely carry out background checks and they’re strict about who they deem suitable. You can be a great candidate on paper with an impressive list of qualifications and years of relevant experience. You can be everything that the hiring manager is looking for, and they’re thrilled to have found you. You may have even talked about your conviction and they didn’t run you out of their office.
And then your background check comes back, and they won’t hire you, because HR at corporate told them not to. One function of the HR department is to protect the company, and they do that by disqualifying anyone who could be a potential problem and cause them financial loss.
With a sex offender, that loss could come in the form of reputational damage and customer backlash, or negligent hiring lawsuits if you were to harm someone.
Small Businesses Are A Better Bet
Many small businesses still carry out background checks but they have a lot more flexibility around who they will and won’t hire. They can make a judgment call instead of blindly following company policy.
Of course, you could encounter a completely prejudiced individual who wants nothing to do with you, but you could also encounter a pragmatic business owner who is mainly focused on how you will add to their bottom line.
If you aren’t a risk to staff members or customers, and you have the skills and experience they need, you will stand a chance of getting a job with them.
Small business owners can judge for themselves whether you’re a true sexual predator, or merely someone who made a mistake about the age of a consensual partner. Then they can decide what they want to do.
You may face an obstacle if your state publishes the work addresses for registered sex offenders, because a small business may not want to risk a hit to their reputation.
There’s nothing you can do about that except thank the hiring manager or owner for their time, ask if they know of anyone else who might have an opening for you, then get back down to the business of applying for more jobs.
See also: Can Felons Drive For Uber?
Action Step: Create A Local List Of Sex Offender Employment Opportunities
Compile your own list of places that hire sex offenders.
How do you do that?
Well, those sex offenders register that are hurting you can be turned into a resource. If the sex offenders register in your state publically display employers’ addresses, you can search those addresses to find out who the employer is.
Just because a business has a sex offender on their payroll, doesn’t mean they know that employee is a sex offender. But they very well may. Either way, this is a good place to begin.
IT MAY BE A FELONY OFFENSE IN YOUR STATE FOR A SEX OFFENDER TO VIEW THE SEX OFFENDERS REGISTRY.
THE ONLY SAFE WAY FOR YOU TO OBTAIN INFORMATION FROM THE REGISTRY IS TO HAVE A TRUSTED FRIEND OR FAMILY MEMBER COLLECT THE INFORMATION FOR YOU. YOU MUST NOT PARTICIPATE IN ANY WAY.
Read that warning again and make sure it sinks in. You do not want to face more legal problems or go to jail.
Your ‘research assistant’ needs to look through the sex offenders registry and copy each workplace address that’s within a reasonable distance of your home.
Then each address can be looked up online to find out the business behind the address.
The best way to organize this information is in a spreadsheet. If you don’t know how to use a spreadsheet, take a free online course to learn how to create and use spreadsheets, or watch a few videos on YouTube.
Then go through your list, employer by employer, and search job sites like indeed.com or monster.com to see if they have any current openings. Look on their Facebook page or company website. If they have an opening that you’re qualified for, apply for the job, then add the position and application date to your spreadsheet.
If they don’t have any job openings listed, you can call the business and ask about jobs. But a better option is to go in person with a copy of your resume and a cover letter and speak to the business owner or manager if that’s possible.
It takes more effort to go in person and pound the pavement so to speak, but it’s an effort that doesn’t go unnoticed. It shows that you’ve got more than the average level of initiative.
Don’t approach an employer by saying, “Hey I saw on the sex offenders registry that you hire sex offenders”. They might not know they’ve got a sex offender on staff if they don’t run background checks.
Keep your introduction and inquiry friendly, professional, and brief. Mention the most relevant skill that you have for their line of work, and make sure that your cover letter and resume is tailored to showcase that skill and your relevant experience.
If that means you need to prepare an updated resume and cover letter for each employer, take the time to work on those.
Who else can you add to your list?
The names of friends and family members who work for small businesses. Why do that?
So you can leverage every connection that you have. If someone can put in a good word for you with their boss, or be on the lookout for job openings in their company or through their grapevine, then you need to talk to them.
Put them on your list so you can keep track of the information.
Compiling your own list of jobs for registered sex offenders may take some time and it may not yield instant results, but it’s a step you should take and commit to because this way you stand a chance of getting a job at the going rate rather than having to settle for a minimum wage job.
What’s next?
Sex offenders Should Approach Employers Involved In The Following Industries
Use job sites to find employers who are hiring in the following industries. Background checks are less common with these kinds of employers, and you can even start your own business in some of these fields (marked with SE).
- Temp agencies
- Animal Shelters
- Commercial laundry services
- Lawn care and landscaping (SE)
- Tree removal (SE after necessary training)
- Trucking
- Truck stops
- Construction
- Hospitality
- Assembly and manufacturing
- Welding
- Painting (SE)
- Trash removal (SE)
- Dog walking and pet sitting (SE)
- Scrap metal collection (SE)
- Junkyards
- Firewood merchants
- Snow removal (SE)
- Dog grooming (SE)
- Furniture Assembler (SE)
- Home maintenance (SE)
- Auto mechanic
- Food Truck (SE)
- Pool services (SE)
- Commercial or industrial cleaning
- Roofing
- Drywall contractor
- Heating and cooling
- Agriculture
- Food processing/meatpacking
- Fishing trawlers
- Fracking
- Car Wash
- Waste management
Search For Jobs On Craigslist
Small businesses that advertise on craigslist often won’t make you jump through background check hoops.
Go to the craigslist website for your area, then look through the job listings. Reply to every job that you are interested in or qualified to do. You’ll even find remote jobs you can do on the site.
Follow the instructions for applying or if the listing doesn’t give any details, simply send a brief message through craigslist’s system, listing your skills, qualifications, and experience. Then, if they get back to you, you can send over a resume if necessary and go from there.
Craigslist jobs are broken down into around 30 categories and the site is easy to use. Just watch out for scams.
Investigate Jobs For illegal Immigrants In Your Area
If a business is willing to hire illegal immigrants, then they will hire you. They’re hiring workers with no papers, no work permits, no green card. These businesses are not carrying out background checks on the people they hire. They aren’t asking questions.
You probably won’t get any benefits, and the pay may not be what you want, but a job is a job.
The type of work you can get will depend on the kind of industries in your area that hires undocumented workers.
Look at farming and agriculture, abattoir and meat processing, laundry services, hospitality, landscaping, and commercial cleaning.
Check your local newspaper archives for reports about business raids. Then visit the company and ask about a job.
If you’re prepared to work as a day laborer, or if you’ve got some trade skills, make a sign and go to your local Home Depot parking lot, or wherever that kind of thing goes on in your area.
Are There Any Sex Offender Employment Opportunities At Well-Known Companies?
It won’t come as any surprise to you that companies that will hire sex offenders don’t publicize the fact.
The information about companies that will hire sex offenders comes to light informally through sex offenders exchanging information in various online support groups.
But while offenders will sometimes share that they’ve found a job with a big company, they won’t usually share the name of the company. That’s completely understandable. If a company gets mobbed because word gets around that they hire sex offenders, then boom there goes another job.
While some big companies have signed up for second chance programs like the Fair Chance Business Pledge and The Second Chance Business Coalition, many of those companies still don’t want to employ sex offenders.
Certainly, employers have the right to be cautious, and they have to consider their reputation as well as the attitudes and concerns of their employees and customers.
But it’s hard to escape the conclusion that there’s a lot of blanket discrimination going on when it comes to sex offences, instead of the case-by-case approach they adopt with many other crimes.
That said, we do have some leads to share with you. While there is no guarantee that any company will hire you, other sex offenders have found jobs with the following companies. Remember though, the type of offense that you committed is going to matter a great deal.
UPS
One company that crops up fairly regularly in conversations is UPS. Specifically UPS warehouse. Working at a UPS warehouse is hard. Lots of people quit within a few days. So UPS is open to hiring people with a broad range of offenses on their background reports.
You’ll need to be strong and fit, and willing to put your nose to that grindstone to succeed as a package handler or truck unloader, but if you think you’re up to it, you should definitely apply to UPS. Pay starts at $15 per hour.
Bridgestone/Firestone
Bridgestone is another name that’s been shared. Bridgestone owns and operates Firestone auto and tire centers. Entry-level jobs may not require any experience, but the more experience you’ve got in this field the better. Hourly rates vary depending on location and job type.
Tyson Foods
Tyson Foods may be an option for you because they don’t do background checks. There’s a wide variety of jobs on offer at their food processing plants. You could be loading and unloading trucks, cutting up carcasses, keeping areas clean, or working on the packing line. It’s not nice to work, and you’re working in a cold environment all day. You can earn between $15 to $21 an hour depending on the job you’re doing.
Carolina Cargo
Carolina Cargo is a trucking company. There are other trucking companies that may be open to hiring sex offenders depending on the type of offense, but Carolina Cargo has been name-dropped a few times, so if you already have your CDL get in touch with them.
If you don’t have a commercial driver’s license, there are state programs that will fund your training. Look at the WOIA grant program for your state for more details. By the way, your WOIA program isn’t confined to CDL training, you can get help with all manner of skills training.
Carolina Cargo takes newly qualified CDL drivers into their training program. You’ll be a team driver at all times with this trucking operation. What does that mean? You share the long haul driving with another driver. While you drive, they sleep in the bunk or sit in the passenger seat. Then you swap. That way the truck is never sitting idle.
Wages are lower with Carolina Cargo than is the norm for trucking companies, but you should still earn around $40,000 per year.
See Full List of Trucking Companies That Hire SO
Sex Offender Employment Opportunities At Temp Agencies
You may be able to find work through a temp agency or employment agency. Some agencies have their own workforce that they contract out to various businesses, while at others you will work directly for a company for a specified period of time. Some temp agencies offer both arrangements.
Most temp agencies will hire felons, but their willingness to hire sex offenders across the board is less certain.
Some jobs advertised at temp agencies clearly state no background check. Those are jobs that are prime sex offender employment opportunities, and you should be able to apply for them without issue.
You’ll need to go to the agency website to view their jobs and get the contact details of the recruiter who is dealing with each company you want to apply to. If no background check is necessary, there’s no need to mention your situation. But you’ll need to check the location of the company if there are any places you are not allowed to be near.
Another option is to call the agency and ask about jobs that don’t require a background check. Some agencies include that information in their job listings, while others don’t, so talking to a recruiter is the best way to find jobs with no background check requirement. Recruiters get paid for filling jobs, so it’s in their interest, to be honest with you, and if they can place you with a client, they will.
They’re used to dealing with people with criminal backgrounds. So don’t be nervous about sharing your background. They may not have anything for you, or they might be able to set you up with a job right away.
Temp agencies you can look at include:
- Aramark
- Kelly Services
- MVP Staffing
- Pride Staff
- Adecco
- People Link
- Remedy Intelligent Staffing
- People Ready
- Staffmark
Self-Employment Opportunities For Sex Offenders
When your livelihood depends on someone else being willing to hire you as an employee, you may not have many choices, especially if your crime was morally reprehensible.
One good option that you have is working for yourself. When you work for yourself, you don’t have to go to job interviews or pass background checks. You just perform the service you’re being paid to perform.
When was the last time you checked out the credentials for a lawn guy, plumber, or house painter? Did you thoroughly vet your dog groomer or the guy you hired to help you file your last tax return? Did you scour the sex offenders register before you hired the roofer that replaced that section of ruined shingles?
Of course, you didn’t.
Some people might be overly fussy, but most people don’t even care about your name, never mind your background. They just want the job done as soon as possible, at a price they can afford.
Maybe you’ve already got some skills that you could put to good use, or maybe you’re going to need to develop a marketable skill. Either way, if you put the effort in, you’ll get results.
Self-employment is an option right through the skills spectrum, from manual and trades jobs, to finance and IT.
There are a ton of opportunities you can grab hold of if you start to think a little differently about your income options.
Are you an experienced accountant that companies avoid like the plague because of your background? Then go solo and work for small businesses or contractors. Or why not niche down and offer your services as the tax expert for successful YouTubers or travel bloggers?
Right at the other end of the scale, here’s an idea for you. Poop scooping. Seriously. It’s a real business opportunity.
People love their dogs. But those goofballs can produce hefty amounts of poop every day. The bigger the dog, the more it poops.
And picking it up is a chore. It even causes huge family arguments about whose turn it is to go out and clean it up.
People pay for all kinds of services that they’re too busy or too lazy to do, and you will find people who will pay you to deal with their poop problem.
Google ‘poop scooping business’ to learn more.
When You Get A Job
When you get a job, and you will, even if you have to create your own job, keep quiet about your past.
No one needs to know. You don’t need to take colleagues into your confidence.
People have been brainwashed by decades of media hysteria about sex offenders, and you’ll very likely get a pre-programmed knee-jerk reaction. More so if your colleague is a parent.
Emotions take over and rational thought flies out of the window. Before you know it, that easygoing, work buddy of yours is demanding that your boss kicks you off the job immediately.
Stay away from social media. You don’t need it to keep up with family and real friends. All it takes is for one person to find out that you’re a sex offender, then every social media contact you’ve got knows. And if those contacts include your work colleagues, you’ve got a problem.
Work hard. Get more skills. Be the most valuable, dependable worker it’s possible to be. Even if it’s a crappy job.
Develop the skills you need to work for yourself. Even if you only run a side hustle alongside a main job, it’s insurance.
Until the public is educated about the vast spectrum of offences that are given sex offender status, you’ll never feel secure relying on someone else for an income. And given the dysfunctional, for-profit, criminal justice system in the United States, public education looks to be a long way off.
Final Thoughts
You came here looking for jobs for sex offenders. The truth is, there’s no reliable list. It’s better to build your own list of potential employers.
Some industries are less likely to carry out background checks than others, so you need to focus your job search on employers within those industries.
Find a temp agency that will work with you knowing about your offense, or that features job listings that specifically state no background check.
Look into getting funding for your CDL if your offense isn’t of a predatory nature. Some trucking companies will be open to hiring you. Trucking pays well.
Look at the skills you have right now and figure out how you can put them to use on a self-employed basis.
Always focus on acquiring diverse skills.
And never, ever, give up.
Robert Eric (a lover of Cats and Dogs) is the co-founder of HireFelonsJobs. In our search for a better life, after… A platform was created for the purpose of easing the search for ex-convicts.