San Francisco plan would offer tax break for hiring felons [View All]

[The Northerner]

San Francisco businesses that hire people with felony convictions would get a tax break, under legislation expected to be introduced today.

"Ex-felons are among the most challenged populations in getting work," said Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, who is crafting the plan.

Persuading an employer to hire a convicted felon, particularly in this economy when the unemployment rate is hovering just under 10 percent, is difficult, especially when there's a wide pool of job applicants without felony records.

But offering businesses a monetary incentive may get them to consider hiring someone with a criminal past, said Mirkarimi, who chairs the Board of Supervisors' Public Safety Committee and is a candidate for sheriff in the Nov. 8 election.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/10/17/BAT31LISSG.DTL