UCR public policy and sociology professor Sharon Oselin is a 2024-25 recipient of the Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship Award.

The fellowship will provide Oselin with $16,000 toward her study of the challenges faced by formerly incarcerated people when they seek employment in the Inland Empire region of Southern California.

Titled “To Hire or Not? Inland Empire Employers’ Decisions to Hire Applicants with Criminal Records,” Oselin’s study follows her earlier employer survey showing that 80% of hiring decision-makers sought out information about applicants’ criminal backgrounds before making job offers.

This practice violates the state’s 2018 Fair Chance Act, a law that prohibits an employer from inquiring about criminal history (with some exceptions) until after they make conditional job offers. The study is expected to provide insights into the perspectives and practices of hiring decision-makers, which has implications for employer training and enforcement of the law. 

Oselin is the director of UCR’s Presley Center of Crime and Justice Studies.

“The Haynes Foundation supports research that examines pressing social problems in Southern California,” Oselin said.  “Even more importantly, they prioritize studies that are poised to inform policy. I’m honored to be a recipient of the Haynes Foundation Faculty Fellowship Award that supports my research on employment challenges for applicants with criminal records.”