The Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative (CJEI) provides criminal records and employment law training to job seekers who have been involved in the criminal legal system, assists employers in rethinking their approach to hiring, engages in research to study reentry practices, and influences policy makers and legislators on criminal justice reform.
CJEI Stories
CJEI Presentation for Cornell’s Prison Reform and Education Project
Timothy McNutt, Director of the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative at Cornell ILR, partnered with Cornell’sPrison Reform and Education Project (PREP) in November 2022 to deliver a presentation on the topic of justice-impacted access to work.
Cornell ILR’s Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative offered an employment rights class in partnership with the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office on October 26, 2022.
Timothy McNutt, Director of ILR's Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative, participated in the NYS AFL-CIO’s Union Strong Podcast about “Adult-Use Cannabis – Building a new industry from the ground up in a way that will raise revenue, create good union jobs, and address social, racial, and economic equity."
Cornell Trains Incarcerated Men at Tompkins County Jail
ILR Inequality and Work Theme Project involves students, staff, and faculty working together to remove barriers to employment for people with criminal records in Tompkins County Jail through a multifaceted educational program focusing on employment laws and rights related to a criminal record, covering federal, state, and local laws.
ILR’s Prison Job Fair Opens Doors for Incarcerated
Cornell Chronicle
Twelve employers, along with a former inmate now working as a union carpentry representative, met with 78 incarcerated men Oct. 4 at the Queensboro Correctional Facility in New York City.
ILR Program Helps People with Criminal Records Return to Workforce
Cornell Chronicle
Through the Criminal Justice and Employment Initiative, School of Industrial and Labor Relations legal experts are helping people with criminal records get jobs – an effort that not only changes the course of people’s lives, but helps employers find motivated workers at a time of historically low unemployment.
ILR Course Educates Incarcerated Individuals On Employment Rights at NYC Correctional Facility
The “Know Your Employment Rights” course operated by Cornell’s ILR CJEI covers employment rights and strategies for reintegrating the incarcerated population into the workforce after their release.
ILR Teaches Employment Rights at Correctional Facility
Cornell Chronicle
Every other Friday, individuals incarcerated at the Queensboro Correctional Facility in Queens, New York, take the three-hour Know Your Employment Rights course on employment rights taught by the ILR Labor and Employment Law Program.
Listen: Candid Conversations about Criminal Record Clearance
Esta Bigler speaks with Rashawn Davis, a policy analyst at The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, about why employment is an important component of reducing recidivism and increasing safety.
