Human rights
At CVS Health, we are fundamentally committed to respecting and supporting internationally recognized human rights.
Policy and governance
Our commitment to human rights includes preventing and mitigating adverse impacts of our business, while also taking steps to promote and advance human rights. We conduct proactive due diligence and comply with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP).
Our Human Rights Policy outlines our commitment to and governance of human rights topics. This policy was approved by executive leadership, and oversight and responsibility for its implementation is shared across the Enterprise, including representation from corporate social responsibility, inclusion and belonging, strategic procurement and HR. Through engagement with leading nongovernmental, advocacy and supply chain organizations and experts, we stay apprised of developments and emerging risks in the area of human rights and review and adjust our actions accordingly.
Since 2016, we have collaborated with experts at Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) to conduct human rights impact assessments and gap analyses informed by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Following our initial assessment in 2016, we have periodically engaged BSR to refresh our identification and prioritization of human rights risks across our operations, value chain and business relationships in light of the latest business structures. We have taken appropriate actions to manage these risks and account for evolving stakeholder expectations, emerging human rights issues and the growth of the enterprise.
The assessments covered many issue areas including the potential for forced and child labor, human trafficking, freedom of association, right to collective bargaining, remuneration, discrimination, COVID-19 and product and patient safety. In the latest assessment cycle, we initiated a review of risks across new lines of business added to the CVS Health portfolio since 2021, such as a heightened review on impacts and opportunities in access to health, with the expanded health care delivery services we now offer.
We will continue to conduct periodic assessments over time, which will allow us to focus on different groups within the enterprise and regularly monitor the entire business.
Reporting
At CVS Health, we are fundamentally committed to respecting and supporting internationally recognized human rights, including those articulated in the International Bill of Human Rights, made up of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). We promote various channels for reporting human rights concerns and work closely and collaboratively with stakeholders to understand and address concerns. These channels include the CVS Health Ethics Line, available to colleagues, vendors and suppliers, contractors, consumers and community members, as well as our Colleague Relations team and our Customer Support line.
Ethics Line
The CVS Health Ethics Line is available 24 hours per day, seven days per week, 365 days per year for anyone wishing to confidentially report ethical concerns or potential violations. It is available to colleagues, vendors and suppliers, contractors, consumers and community members. Reports can be made via phone, email, or internet web form. CVS Health utilizes an independent third party to receive incoming calls and web form reports to the Ethics Line, which can be submitted anonymously.
The Ethics Line team oversees triage, investigation, and accountability to confirm that compliance concerns are evaluated and that outcomes are reasonable, as well as monitoring for systemic trends.
Colleague Relations
In addition to reporting concerns to the Ethics Line, colleagues can also escalate concerns or ask for advice by calling Colleague Relations. Colleague Relations provides objective guidance to both colleagues and leaders to address issues concerning work performance, workplace experience, or interaction among colleagues. Colleagues and leaders partner with Colleague Relations Advisors on employee relations concerns, corrective action and performance. Colleague Relations Investigators look into complaints involving potential violation of policy, law, or work rule.
When a case gets reported to Colleague Relations, it will be triaged to the appropriate team depending on the concern. The case is assessed and a notice is provided to the complainant. A meeting is then set up with the colleague to review concerns.
Following the conclusion of the review and/or investigation, the case manager will contact the complainant to discuss the outcome of the case. Should a policy violation be found, possible outcomes could include coaching or training, a Performance Improvement Plan, and/or progressive discipline up to and including, termination.
Our union colleagues submit grievances in accordance with their aligned collective bargaining agreement, working with a designated Labor Relations Grievance team and legal partners as appropriate. Additional support is provided to colleagues through training and resources.
Customer Support Line
Consumers and the public can also contact CVS Health through our Customer Support Line 1-800-SHOP-CVS or CVS Health Corporation, Customer Relations, One CVS Drive, Woonsocket, RI 02895. Customers and members can also call the toll-free number on their ID or membership card. A natural language interactive voice response (IVR) will answer and ask the customer to state the reason for their call or complaint.
Complaints are routed directly to a representative. The representative will gather pertinent information from the customer and document notes in their agent desktop. They assist the customer with any immediate needs, recap the conversation and next steps and end the call. The customer is offered a survey either after the call or via email.
Upon completion of the call, the representative will route any complaints to the complaints team. The complaints team promptly researches the issue and responds to the customer.
Our commitment to colleagues
We are committed to providing a positive, rewarding and safe work environment for every CVS Health colleague and that includes ensuring that our colleagues are treated with dignity and respect. Several resources are provided to colleagues to support our commitment, including information related to their legal rights as a CVS Health employee, policies in place to support a safe work environment and expectations for conducting business ethically and responsibly. Channels in place to inform our colleagues and leaders of their obligations, expectations and reporting vehicles include required and optional trainings, intranet resources and articles, direct communications and signage in work locations.
Equal opportunity and freedom from discrimination
Our continued success depends on the full participation of all qualified persons regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, ancestry, color, religion, sex/gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including pregnancy), age, veteran status, military status, marital status, genetic information, citizenship status, unemployment status, political affiliation, or on any other basis or characteristic prohibited by applicable federal, state or local law. We are committed to a work environment free of all types of discrimination.
Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining
We respect our employees’ right to either unionize or refrain from doing so. As of December 31, 2025, 5.1% of employees were covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Providing training and resources
We offer multiple compliance courses that address human rights topics, including discrimination and harassment, informed consent and quality of care. This includes our annual Code of Conduct training, which nearly 100% of active colleagues completed in 2025. Through this annual training, colleagues receive and must acknowledge receipt of our human rights policy.
Learn more about colleague safety and our work to foster an engaging and inclusive workplace
Other policies that relate to the protection and promotion of human rights for our colleagues include:
Our commitments to patients and customers
As part of our work to be America’s most trusted health care company, we are committed to respecting and promoting our patients’ and customers’ human rights. This includes their rights as patients of CVS Health care providers, protection of their privacy and data, the integrity of our products and our commitment to responsible marketing practices. Through customer survey mechanisms, we work to gather the voice of the consumer in informing related policies and practices.
Our policies that relate to the protection and promotion of human rights for patients and customers include:
Our commitments to supply chain communities
Where we are directly linked to human rights impacts through our business relationships, we seek ways to positively influence the human rights actions of our business partners, including our suppliers. We require suppliers and their factories to provide fair and safe working conditions for all workers and to treat their employees with dignity and respect.
Our policies that relate to the protection and promotion of human rights in our supply chain include:
Social compliance factory audits
To ensure factories are meeting local laws and international standards as they relate to human rights concerns, audits are conducted by our independent third-party audit firm partner, UL, through our Ethical Sourcing & CTPAT Compliance Program. The Ethical Sourcing & CTPAT Compliance Program focuses on human rights related areas such as child labor, forced labor, wages and benefits, and health and safety.
Audits are required for factories where CVS Health is the importer of record (direct import) as well as factories producing our store brands in the U.S. and internationally. Factories are required to undergo a pre-qualification audit and then a routine audit every 6-12 months, depending on performance. Audit reports are provided to the supplier and factory, which are required to submit a corrective action and preventative action plan for each audit finding. In 2025, more than 800 audits were conducted across our factories, including in the U.S., where audit requirements were introduced in 2023 and expanded in 2024.
More information on our social compliance program is available in the Appendix.