CVS Caremark inks disability employment pact

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) have established a two-year nationwide alliance to promote the employment of people with disabilities. The effort will include technical assistance, training and education, outreach and communication.
“This alliance will mutually benefit CVS Caremark, the company’s work force and customers, the Labor Department’s Office of Disability Employment Policy and the general public,” the ODEP’s Karen M. Czarnecki, acting assistant secretary of labor, said in a statement yesterday evening.
“Hiring, retaining and advancing employees with disabilities is just good business,” she said. “ODEP and CVS Caremark will share information, guidance and resources that will help to develop model programs for other employers, particularly in the retail and pharmacy services industries.”
The agreement was signed yesterday afternoon by Czarnecki and Steve Wing, director of government programs for CVS Caremark, at the Labor Department headquarters in Washington, D.C.
During the two years of the pact, CVS Caremark and the ODEP will jointly distribute training and education materials and information on disability employment practices to the company’s human resources leaders, and will collaborate to identify technical-assistance resources for workplace accommodations. They also will disseminate information, via a variety of methods, to promote a national dialogue on disability employment issues. A plan of action is being developed by a joint implementation team comprising representatives of both organizations.
“CVS Caremark is pleased to form an alliance with ODEP, which will help us in our commitment to developing an inclusive, diverse company,” V. Michael Ferdinandi, the company’s senior vice president of human resources, said in a statement. “We look forward to working together to recruit and train people with disabilities—and help put them on solid career paths at CVS Caremark.”
CVS Caremark employs about 190,000 people at its 6,200 retail and specialty pharmacies, 11 mail-service pharmacies and 14 call centers nationwide and its headquarters in Woonsocket.
As a 2006 recipient of the Secretary of Labor’s New Freedom Initiative Award – for excellence and innovation in furthering the employment of and workplace environment for people with disabilities – the company is a member of the ODEP’s Circle of Champions, a group of U.S. employers that serves as an advisory panel to the federal agency.
CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE: CVS) operates the CVS/pharmacy stores; CVS.com online pharmacy; Caremark Pharmacy Services; and MinuteClinic retail-based health care. To learn more, visit investor.cvs.com.
The federal Office of Disability Employment Policy is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. Alliances with the ODEP are open to public-sector and private-sector organizations wishing to work with the agency to enhance their recruitment, hiring and advancement of people with disabilities. To learn more, visit www.dol.gov/odep.