Date posted: 10/26/2006*

On Oct. 26, 2006, Raytheon was one of only four companies recognized by U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao as a recipient of the 2006 New Freedom Initiative (NFI) Award for the company’s commitment to recruit, train, hire and promote individuals with disabilities.

Introduced in 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor NFI Award honors exemplary and innovative efforts to ensure that people with disabilities have the opportunity to fully participate in all aspects of community life, including employment.

Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS) was the specific honoree for this award. Daisy Jenkins, vice president of Human Resources and Security for RMS, was on hand to accept the award at the ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The award was decided after RMS demonstrated how it developed and implemented a multifaceted program to increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities. The program increases access to assistive technologies and uses innovative training, hiring and retention techniques.

As part of its nomination, RMS highlighted how Raytheon created a supportive work environment in which people with disabilities can excel and contribute to the business without the burden of being treated differently. No matter what physical, developmental or mental disability a person brings to the workplace, well-trained leaders and managers using innovative policies, programs and procedures can create work environments in which all people thrive. Raytheon focuses on what people can do: their abilities, how they can contribute to everyone’s success and how barriers can be removed.

RMS also highlighted its support of employee resource groups, including the Raytheon Persons with DisAbilities Association, a network dedicated to providing employees with resources needed to support and facilitate the hiring, retention and advancement of employees with disabilities; educational partnerships that support recruitment; specialized training and services, including interpreters; and community outreach to promote awareness.

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