Associations and companies employing more than 60 percent of workers have committed increase opportunities for those with criminal backgrounds, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

The employers, including at least four national associations, have signed SHRM's Getting Talent Back to Work pledge, CEO Johnny Taylor said in a statement this week.

"This is a group we, as business leaders, cannot afford to overlook as one-in-three adults in the United States currently has a criminal background," said Taylor.

"Not only is it the right thing to do—to give a deserving person a second chance—but it is becoming imperative as businesses continue to experience recruiting difficulty at an alarming rate."

The initiative follows a national study commissioned by SHRM and the Charles Koch Institute showing that more than 82 percent of hiring managers say workers with a criminal history are equally or more effective than those without such backgrounds.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and the American Staffing Association are among those to sign the pledge.

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