Risk and Reward: Formal and Informal Labor Market Experiences in Reentry and Recovery

• In Event: Navigating Reentry

Abstract

We evaluate the labor market experiences of vulnerable adults who have had encounters with drug use, the police and the courts (N=401). Participants report transitory relationships with the labor market as they cycle through the justice system and experience often multiple stints in clinical treatment for addiction. Participants report several reasons for not working in the formal labor market that are actually quite practical: (1) their ability to travel to work has been hampered--i.e., driver’s license revocation; (2) criminal justice history; (3) working in formal employment, especially if there are outstanding warrants, generates fear of being identified, caught, and arrested; (4) if such individuals obtain employment formally, the government potentially has the right to intercept and garnish their paychecks through fines, fees, and child support enforcement. Despite such threats that might emerge from formal employment, a sizable portion of our respondents noted some ongoing ties to the formal labor market. This presents a more complex picture of their work experiences and precarity—work experiences and precarity that might more accurately be described as a patchwork of formal and informal activities. Regardless, vulnerability was a common theme and high-risk work (e.g., sex work) was reported by several respondents.

Authors

• Meghan O’Neil, Michigan State University

• Vincent Roscigno, Ohio State University