NEW: ACLU and CVS Settle Discrimination Lawsuit
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
The Rhode Island ACLU and CVS/Pharmacy have reached a settlement in a lawsuit the ACLU filed alleging that a pre-hire questionnaire discriminated against people with certain mental impairments and disorders.
CVS uses an online job application that is common to many retail store positions. CVS claims it neither created nor scored the pre-hire questionnaire, but rather the outside vendor who created it reports back to CVS on which applicants are recommended for interview.
The statements to which applicants were required to respond based on checking off answers ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree included:
■ “You change from happy to sad without any reason.”
■ “You get angry more often than nervous.”
■ “Your moods are steady from day to day.”
■ “There’s no use having close friends; they always let you down.”
The ACLU claims that the questions, “could have the effect of discriminating against applicants with certain mental impairments or disorders, and go beyond merely measuring general personality traits.” Under the settlement CVS agreed to permanently remove these questions.
Under the agreement, CVS has pulled the questionnaire from its online application and will reimburse the ACLU for its legal fees, which were $6,750.
“CVS Caremark has a firm non-discrimination policy and is committed to building an environment of inclusion and acceptance that values diversity across all areas of our business. As such, we are pleased to resolve this matter,” said David Casey, Vice President, Diversity for CVS Caremark.
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