Friday, September 7, 2007

Federal Bonding for Ex Offenders

Check out this site http://www.bonds4jobs.com/index.html

It has answers to all questions you may have

WHAT IS FIDELITY BONDING?

  • Insurance to protect an employer against employee dishonesty
    covers any type of stealing: theft, forgery, larceny, and embezzlement
  • In effect, a guarantee of worker job honesty
  • An incentive to the employer to hire an at-risk applicant
  • A unique tool for marketing applicants to employers
  • DOES NOT cover "liability" due to poor workmanship, job injuries, work accidents, etc.
  • Is NOT a bail bond or court bond needed in adjudication
  • Is NOT a bond needed for self-employment (contract bond, license bond or performance bond)

FIDELITY BONDING SERVICES ARE USER FRIENDLY

  • NO screening of applicants to be placed in jobs with Fidelity Bond use
  • NO bond approval processing - local staff instantly issue bonds to employers
  • NO papers for employer to sign to obtain free bond incentive for job hire
  • NO follow-up and NO termination actions required by bond issued
  • NO deductible in bond insurance amount if employee dishonesty occurs
  • NO age requirements for bondee other than legal working age in State
  • NO other U.S. program provides Fidelity Bonding services
  • ANY job at ANY employer in ANY State can be covered by the bond

WHY IS FIDELITY BONDING NEEDED FOR JOB PLACEMENT?

  • Employers view ex-offenders and other at-risk job applicants as potentially untrustworthy workers, thereby, denying them job-hire
  • insurance companies will not cover risky job applicants under commercial Fidelity Bonds purchased by employers to protect themselves against employee dishonesty
  • Anyone who has ever "committed a fraudulent or dishonest act" is deemed NOT BONDABLE by insurance companies, a situation leading to routine denial of employment opportunities for such individuals
  • Being NOT BONDABLE is a significant barrier to employment possessed by the hardest-to-place job applicants; this barrier can be eliminated only by the Federal Bonding Program
  • Job bonding enables employer to "obtain worker skills without taking risk"
  • Persons who are NOT BONDABLE can ultimately become commercially BONDABLE for life by demonstrating job honesty during the 6 months of bond coverage under the Federal Bonding Program (such commercial bonding will be made available by the TRAVELERS Insurance Company.)

WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR BONDING SERVICES?

  • Any at-risk job applicant is eligible for bonding services. including: ex-offenders; ex-addicts (alcohol and/or drugs); welfare recipients and other persons having poor credit poor youth who lack a work history; individuals dishonorably discharged from the military
  • Anyone who cannot secure employment without bonding
  • All persons bonded must meet the legal working age set by the State in which the job exists
  • Self-employed persons are NOT ELIGIBLE for bonding services (bondee must be an employee who earns wages with Federal taxes automatically deducted from paycheck)
  • Bonds can be issued to cover already employed workers who need bonding in order to (a) prevent being laid off, or (b) secure promotion to a new job at their company
  • Bonding coverage can apply to any job at any employer in any State

HOW CAN BONDS BE ACCESSED UNDER THE FEDERAL BONDING PROGRAM?

  • Any agency is now eligible to deliver bonding services under the Federal Bonding Program: for many years bonding services were almost exclusively delivered by the State Employment Service
  • All agencies issuing Fidelity Bonds must be "certified" to do so by the Federal Bonding Program
  • The Fidelity Bonds issued to employers covering at-risk applicants are insurance policies of the TRAVELERS insurance co., made available exclusively to the Federal Bonding Program which is not duplicated by any other U.S. program
  • Bonds are issued instantly to be in effect the day that the applicant is scheduled to start work; the bonds are self-terminating (no termination paperwork needed), and the employer does not sign any papers in order to receive the bond free-of-charge
  • The bond insurance issued ranges from 5,000 to 25,000 coverage for a 6-month period with no deductible amount (employer gets 100% insurance coverage); when this bond coverage expires, continued bond coverage can be purchased from TRAVELERS by the employer if the worker demonstrated job honesty under coverage provided by the Federal Bonding Program
  • Bond can be issued to the employer as soon as the applicant has a job offer with a date scheduled to start work

HAS BOND USED ACHIEVED SUCCESS AND RECOGNITION?

  • 99% success rate for about 40,000 job placements
  • Expanded access to job openings (greater range of occupations for placement)
  • Improved service delivery efficiency (less referrals needed to secure job placements)
  • Effective employer incentive for job-hire (findings of research study of employer attitudes)
  • Reduced offender re-incarceration (Texas saves $10M annually)
  • Eliminates barrier to employment (employer attitude barrier; NOT BONDABLE barrier)
  • Generates tax payers and reduces tax users (research study findings)
  • "User friendly" (virtually no paperwork or other administrative burden)

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Trying to re-enter society

First mission is to : Get Out !!
That is the easy part. After walking out the gates i am certain things will be easier. I was completely wrong. It starts with getting drivers licenses , social security cards , and any other form of identification. I going from office to office only to be told i needed my license to get a ss card , and a birth certificate or "other " form of ID to get a license . I could not drive myself to any of thses offices because i could not get a license ..ect.. so my mother had to take off work numerous times to drive me around. In circles . Finally , i am the next one in line at the DMV !!But wait there is one last hoop to jump through . Due to my offense i have to obtain a special insurance before i can get my license . SR22 insurance is more expensive that regular insurance and to top that off i have to pay 100.00 fee for my license . Once again my mother comes to the rescue . After 2 weeks of gathering ID 's i am ready to find a job.
Unlike most convicted felons i did find a job quickly . Not just any job , a Government job! After less than a month of searching i was hired by FEMA . I could not understand why or how i could work for FEMA when Burger King would'nt even hire me. For 2 years i did any and everything i could to prove that i was an excellent employee . Then it happens .... a "deeper" FBI background check had to be done on all employees . After 4 months of sending the documents FEMA requested , making countless calls and just praying i get the dreaded letter. I am unsuitable for employment. I was crushed, but i thought ok i will get another job while i appeal FEMA's decision. Well it has been 15 months since that day .I do have a job now . It barely pays me what i spend in gas to get to work. Don't get me wrong i am thankful for this job. My boss is nice and she does not hold my past against me. but it is part time ,
commission only , telemarketing . So i have searched for jobs everywhere , newspapers, online, and through my friends and family. Yes i get lots of call back even interviews.But the second a potential employer finds out i have a felony the door slams shut. I continue to look for a better job . Thats how i started this blog. In the coming days i will post all i have learned from getting bonded for free, tax breaks an employer can get for hiring a convicted felon and lots more . If you have any thing that is helpful for other job seekers with records please post a comment.
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