Getting a Job After Prison in Nebraska

There is one question that determines whether you get hired. Not the application. Not the background check. Not what the charge was or how long you were inside.

The question is this: why you, over the thirty other people I could hire who don't have a criminal record?

If you walk in without a ready answer, you will not get the job. The interviewer can see the pause the moment you don't have something prepared, and once they see it, the room shifts against you. What you need is an answer practiced enough to say with confidence and humility at the same time.

The answer that works is this:

Everybody deserves a second chance. Somebody is going to give me one. And they are going to get the best employee they ever had, because I am never, ever going to do something that sends me back to prison.

Say it clean. Say it without flinching. It makes no excuses, asks for no sympathy, and tells the employer the one thing they actually need to know: you have more reason to perform than anyone else in that stack.

Then live it. The light is on you from the first day. Use it. Work twice as hard as the person next to you. Show up earlier, stay later, and make that scrutiny your shining light, not a shadow. The person standing next to you does not have anyone watching them that closely. You do. That is the advantage if you decide to use it.

What the Law in Nebraska Says About Your Record

Nebraska's ban the box law (LB367, 2014) covers public sector employment - state agencies cannot include criminal history questions on initial job applications. Nebraska was the first Republican-led state in the nation to adopt this policy, and the bill passed the legislature 46-0. But the protection covers state jobs only. Private employers in Nebraska face no timing restriction on when they can ask about criminal history. A private company can ask on the initial application, screen you out before the interview, and decline without explanation. There is no statewide timing requirement and no individualized assessment mandate for private employers.

Federal FCRA protections apply statewide. Any employer using a consumer reporting agency must get your written consent and provide notice before adverse action. Non-conviction records (arrests without conviction) older than seven years are protected under FCRA.

Nebraska's 2024 licensing reform law (LB16) is worth knowing if you are pursuing a professional license. It prevents licensing agencies from considering or requiring disclosure of arrests that did not result in conviction, deferred adjudications, sealed or expunged records, juvenile records, convictions with no incarceration penalty, certain older convictions, and prison sentences that ended more than three years ago. This is significant because it opens licensing pathways that were previously closed.

Nebraska's strongest tool for returning citizens is the quality of its reentry employment programming. Nebraska joined the national Reentry 2030 initiative on February 1, 2024, as the fourth state in the nation to do so. The state has set specific, measurable goals: 30% increase in GED completion during incarceration; 50% increase in college coursework enrollment; 25% increase in vocational and life skills participation; 90% employed within 30 days of parole placement; 100% Medicaid enrollment before release; 100% of individuals receiving state ID and birth certificate before release. As of early 2025, approximately 70% of NDCS individuals typically obtain employment within 60 days of release.

Building the Answer Before You Need It

Your answer is what carries you with private employers in Nebraska.

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services funds the Vocational and Life Skills (VLS) Initiative, which supports 14 community organizations across the state providing job training, life skills, education, and reentry services. Metropolitan Community College operates its 180 RAP (Re-entry Assistance Program), offering credit classes onsite at Omaha Correctional Center, Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, and Nebraska Correctional Youth Facility. Certificates are available in construction, electrical technology, information technology, and manufacturing. Eligible work release residents in Omaha and Lincoln can also register for campus classes.

NDCS has implemented a warm handoff between incarceration and parole staff before release, reducing anxiety and building familiarity with community supervision. Family support programming now prepares families for the return of their loved ones. A reentry readiness tool helps incarcerated individuals and staff identify and address gaps before release.

Start with what you did inside. Any VLS program participation, MCC certificate, vocational training, education, or work assignment is content that goes directly into your answer. Then connect it to what this specific employer needs.

Nebraska's economy runs on agriculture and food processing, manufacturing, logistics, healthcare, financial services, and technology in the Omaha metro. Whatever you are applying for, make your answer specific to what that employer needs.

Practice it out loud. Until the hesitation is completely gone. The pause is what loses the room. Eliminate it before you sit down.

Companies in Nebraska That Hire People with Criminal Records

Nebraska's economy, centered on Omaha, Lincoln, Grand Island, and Kearney, with agriculture and food processing across the state, creates consistent demand in sectors that evaluate returning citizens individually.

Amazon, Walmart, Home Depot, and major food service operators have Nebraska operations and national fair chance commitments. Tyson Foods, JBS, Greater Omaha Packing, and other meat processing operations throughout Nebraska hire in production and processing roles with consistent demand. Union Pacific Railroad, headquartered in Omaha, hires in operations and maintenance. Healthcare systems including Nebraska Medicine, Bryan Health, and CHI Health hire in support and entry-level roles. Manufacturing and logistics operations across the Omaha and Lincoln metros create warehouse and production demand. Construction contractors statewide face persistent labor shortages.

NDCS's Reentry 2030 employer engagement includes active Second Chance Employer summits and direct employer partnerships built through the VLS network. Project Reset and STEP-UP Omaha maintain direct employer relationships developed specifically for returning citizens.

American Job Centers in Omaha and Lincoln provide direct employment connections, training grants, and WOTC coordination for returning citizens.

Staffing agencies across Omaha, Lincoln, and the major Nebraska metro areas are the most accessible first step, placing workers in manufacturing, food processing, and logistics with more flexibility than direct hire.

For the full national list of companies with public fair chance commitments, see the InmateAid Fair Chance Employer Reference List.

The Tax Credit Employers Get for Hiring You

Here is the closing argument for every conversation with an employer on the fence.

There is a federal program called the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, or WOTC. When an employer hires someone from a qualifying group, including individuals recently released from prison, the employer may receive a significant federal tax credit per qualifying hire. That is not charity. It is a business incentive the federal government created specifically to make hiring returning citizens financially advantageous.

You are not asking anyone to take a risk on you. You are telling them your hire comes with a tax benefit attached that none of the other thirty applicants can offer. Say it at the end of the interview, after you have made your case: I qualify for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Hiring me may put money back in your business. And I will give you the best work you have ever gotten from a new hire, because I have too much to lose to give you anything less.

American Job Centers in Nebraska coordinate WOTC certification and Federal Bonding access for employers statewide.

Where to Get Help in Nebraska

American Job Centers in Omaha and Lincoln, operated through the Nebraska Department of Labor, provide job search assistance, career counseling, resume help, training referrals, WOTC coordination, and Federal Bonding access. Find your nearest center through the Nebraska Department of Labor at dol.nebraska.gov.

Nebraska Department of Correctional Services (NDCS) Reentry Services partners with 14 VLS-funded organizations statewide and operates pre-release reentry planning, warm handoffs to parole, and community connections. Contact through corrections.nebraska.gov.

Metropolitan Community College 180 RAP provides credit classes and career certificates inside Omaha Correctional Center and Tecumseh State Correctional Institution, and serves eligible work release residents. Contact at mccneb.edu.

Project Reset (Nebraska Center for Workforce Development and Education) mentors justice-involved individuals into skilled trades and labor careers, providing one-on-one job coaching, career planning, and employment retention services.

RISE (seeusrise.org) prepares people in prison for reentry through character development, job readiness, family programming, second chance employment, and entrepreneurship.

BAMB (Building Assets Men and Boys) provides reentry support for men transitioning from incarceration into the Omaha community, including vocational goal development and transitional planning.

CenterPointe Employment Services provides reentry-focused employment, transitional work, and training for justice-involved adults; referral often required.

STEP-UP Omaha is one of Nebraska's primary reentry employment providers, offering job readiness training, placement, and direct employer partnerships.

Nebraska Legal Aid and Legal Aid of Nebraska provide free legal assistance to low-income Nebraskans, including guidance on set-aside petitions and pardon applications.

The Federal Bonding Program, coordinated through Nebraska American Job Centers, provides free fidelity bonding to employers who hire returning citizens.