[il-talk] FW: Article: Walgreens Expands Disability Employment Effort Nationwide

[David Meyer]

  _____  

From: Lauri Dishman [mailto:lauri at guildfortheblind.org] 
Sent: Tuesday, May 29, 2012 9:44 AM
Subject: FW: Article: Walgreens Expands Disability Employment Effort
Nationwide



From: DBTAC - Great Lakes ADA Information
[mailto:GREATLAKES at LISTSERV.UIC.EDU] On Behalf Of Robin Jones
Sent: Monday, May 28, 2012 6:24 PM
To: GREATLAKES at LISTSERV.UIC.EDU
Subject: Article: Walgreens Expands Disability Employment Effort Nationwide

 


The following article is forwarded to you by the Great Lakes ADA Center
(www.adagreatlakes.org) for your information:


 


DisabilityScoop


May 21, 2012


 


Walgreens Expands Disability Employment Effort Nationwide


By  <http://www.disabilityscoop.com/author/michelle-diament/> Michelle
Diament 

 

The nation's largest drugstore chain is dramatically increasing its efforts
to hire people with disabilities.

Walgreens officials said they plan to implement a training program in every
state by the end of 2013 that's designed to help people with disabilities
land jobs in the company's retail stores.

 

The initiative is an expansion of a pilot program that began in Texas and
currently operates at stores in New York and Connecticut as well.

 

Through the program, Walgreens partners with local disability service
providers to identify and train prospective employees for jobs in retail
environments. Upon successful completion of the program, individuals can
apply for work at Walgreens or other retailers that rely on a similar skill
set.

 

So far, 400 people with disabilities have participated in the training
program, 46 percent of whom have subsequently been hired by Walgreens or
other retailers, according to the company.

 

Walgreens plans to immediately expand its efforts to stores in Arizona,
Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York,
Oregon, Pennsylvania, Washington and Wisconsin. The rest of the country is
expected to participate in the program by the end of next year.

 

In addition to the retail initiative, at least 10 percent of the workforce
at each of Walgreens' 20 distribution centers is already comprised of people
with disabilities. The company is looking to achieve a similar inclusion
rate in its stores.

 

Walgreens' efforts to expand disability employment have become a model for
other employers as well. Last year, Proctor & Gamble said
<http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2011/08/04/inclusive-employment/13678/>  it
would follow in the drugstore's footsteps when they announced that at least
30 percent of employees at a new packaging facility in Maine would be people
with physical or developmental disabilities.

 

Disability advocates say efforts to increase hiring of those with special
needs are much needed. As of April, the U.S. Department of Labor said that
the unemployment rate for people with disabilities was at 12.5 percent,
significantly higher than the 8.1 percent rate faced by the general
population.

 

Source:
http://www.disabilityscoop.com/2012/05/21/walgreens-nationwide/15665/