Disability Inclusive Employers

Every year, the division of Employment and Independence for People with Disabilities (EIPD) provides individualized services to over 26,000 clients with disabilities, helping them prepare for careers in North Carolina’s competitive workforce. Over the past five years, we’ve helped more than 20,000 individuals with disabilities achieve their goals for good-paying jobs in communities statewide.

Strong partnerships with large and small businesses in North Carolina are what make these successful outcomes possible. We engage with thousands of businesses annually, providing training and consultation on disability awareness and inclusion best practices, financial incentives, accommodations, assistive technology, as well as providing workforce recruitment, onboarding, and retraining services to help employers find and retain talented candidates with disabilities.

We value our employer partnerships and want to recognize the efforts of businesses in North Carolina to hire and retain workers with disabilities. For a more in-depth look at who is employing people with disabilities in North Carolina, we analyzed quarterly data to identify businesses that hired and retained at least four clients. From April to June of 2022:

Employed 40 or more clients

  • Food Lion
  • Walmart

Employed between 11 – 25 clients

  • Bojangles
  • Harris Teeter
  • McDonalds
  • Ingles
  • Amazon
  • Lowes Foods

Employed between 7 – 10 clients

  • Roses
  • Burger King
  • Taco Bell
  • Aramark
  • Panera Bread
  • Coastal Enterprises

Employed between 4 – 6 EIPD clients

  • Hardees
  • Pizza Hut
  • YMCA
  • Lowes Home Improvement
  • Dollar General
  • Dollar Tree
  • Marshalls
  • Publix
  • Credit Suisse
  • Sonic
  • Wegmans

This is not a comprehensive list of businesses that have hired multiple clients over time, nor does it include all employers that hire workers with disabilities in our state. Instead, this is a snapshot of disability inclusive businesses that partner with EIPD. 

Average Hourly Earnings and Industries of Clients

Last year, clients who achieved their employment goal earned an average hourly wage of $13.15/hour and worked an average of 27 hours/week. The most popular employment sectors that clients chose to work in during the same period include, but are not limited to:

  • Office and Administrative Support
  • Food Preparation and Serving Related
  • Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance
  • Transportation and Material Moving
  • Production

If you have a disability and want to find a job, keep working or advance professionally, we can help you chart your path to a career with a future in North Carolina. Get more information and apply for services by contacting your local EIPD office.

Additional Information

Value Realized
Skills, Experiences, Options
Individualized Plan for Employment Handbook
Job-Seeker's Toolkit
Client Assistance Program