CVS to Increase Wages

CVS (Woonsocket, R.I.) is raising its minimum enterprise hourly wage to $15 per hour beginning July 2022, according to a company press release. Incremental increases for the company’s competitive hourly rates will begin this month. According to the company, 65 percent of its employees already earn more than $15 per hour.

CVS Health Chief People Officer Laurie Havanec says, “With millions of visits per day to our nearly 10,000 locations across the country, our retail business plays an important role in how we deliver care … Our track record on wages aligns with the evolving needs and expectations of CVS Health colleagues in customer-facing roles.”

By increasing the hourly pay to $15 per hour, it will create a more than 60 percent increase in the minimum enterprise hourly wage over a four-year period, according to the company.

In Pittsburgh, CVS recently opened a Workforce Innovation and Talent Research Center that aims to provide training and employment services to “underserved populations through partnerships with faith-based and community organizations.” The company also recently omitted the requirement for employees to have a GED or high school diploma for entry-level positions and will also be soon eliminating the GPA requirement for recruitment from universities.