Disability group honors 9 firms for leadership

The National Organization on Disability (NOD) has cited nine companies for making the hiring of employees with disabilities a corporate priority.

The “Fine Nine” include:

• Sam’s Club, one of the first companies to fund the NOD’s “Bridges to Business” program.
• J.B. Hunt, the trucking company that was the first employer to join the consortium and enlist the  NOD to assist with policy review, personnel training and connections to disability placement agencies for 50 new positions.
• Tyson Foods, for training recruiting managers and looking to implement at best practices on a national level.
• Lowe’s, which has a long-time commitment to hiring people with disabilities and builds awareness of the company’s job opportunities for people with disabilities.
• Aetna, one of several New Jersey employers seeking to build a pipeline of candidates with disabilities.
• Sodexo, also of New Jersey, which has identified 15 sites across the state to recruit candidates with disabilities.
• ADP, which developed a process for identifying and recruiting qualified job candidates with disabilities.
• Saint Barnabus Health Care System, which made a commitment to actively recruit and hire people with disabilities.
• Toys R Us, for launching a disability employment effort in two of its distribution centers.

Contact: Meg O’Connell of the National Organization on Disability,  (704) 525-5576.