Research/Document Library

Expanding Opportunity: Employing the Formerly Incarcerated in the Green Economy

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $5 billion through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) under the U.S. Department of Energy to help weatherize one million low-income family homes—marking a tremendous increase from $227.2 and $250 million for WAP in FYs 2008 and 2009, respectively.

In this paper, the National Employment Law Project, with help from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights and PolicyLink, provides the necessary information to enable efficient and equitable hiring using WAP funds. This paper fills an important void by clearly explaining the laws regulating who can access these jobs, particularly as it pertains to people with criminal records, a population that faces significant barriers to securing employment.

Available online

http://nelp.3cdn.net/

Author(s)

National Employment Law Project / PolicyLink / Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Date

July 2010