UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC. | PUBLIC DISCLOSURE OF WORKFORCE DIVERSITY at UNIVERSAL HEALTH SERVICES, INC.

Status
Filed
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
5
Resolution details
Company ticker
UHS
Lead filer
New York State Common Retirement Fund
Resolution ask
Adopt or amend a policy
ESG theme
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI)
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Health Care
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Shareholders request that the Board of Directors adopt a policy requiring Universal Health Services, Inc. (Universal Health or the Company) to publicly disclose its workforce diversity, including, at the Board’s discretion, a breakdown of its workforce by race, ethnicity and gender and retention rates of employees by the same categories (Report). As part of such Report, the board, at its discretion, may wish to disclose its Consolidated EEO-1 Report (EEO-1 Report), which it is required to submit annually to the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This Report shall be prepared at reasonable cost and omit information that is proprietary, privileged or violative of contractual obligations.
Supporting statement
As intangible assets increasingly drive corporate value creation, investors seek a better understanding of human capital management strategy and performance. Universal Health employs approximately 86,000 employees in the United States and 13,000 in the United Kingdom. In the past the Company disclosed gender and race/ethnicity statistics for its workforce overall, new hires, and promotions. It is well recognized in the market and by Universal Health that there is a shortage of workers in the healthcare industry in the United States. Attrition in the industry is high and represents a major cost. According to third-party data provider Comparably, the Company is a laggard in retention among similar size companies. Transparency around these critical data points is needed, yet the Company is providing investors with less information than it did before. The Fund believes that disclosure of this information would help investors assess the implementation of their portfolio companies’ commitments to inclusion. Further, disclosure of the EEO-1 Report would be a cost-effective method of reporting some of this information. A lack of consistent and comparable disclosure of human capital practices makes it difficult for investors to integrate this key factor in their analysis of company risk and value. Virtually all 100 S&P companies and over 400 S&P 500 companies have disclosed their EEO-1 Reports. Likewise in Universal Health’s sector, 81% of companies published their 2023 EEO-1 Reports. Standardized, quantitative, and reliable data will enable investors to assess Universal Health’s workforce management practices versus its peers. Universal Health is committed to diversity and inclusion, which is associated with employee retention and can provide a competitive advantage. Many investors believe that diverse and inclusive workplaces “encourag[e] varied perspectives that can better anticipate shifts in consumer preferences, reduc[e] costly turnover, and increas[e] productivity and morale,” in addition to other benefits.1 There remains a strong investor preference for this disclosure so that they may assess performance versus peers. We urge Universal Health to join its peers in disclosing the requested information. 1 Letter from Investors to SEC Chair (Nov. 18, 2021), https://www.bostontrustwalden.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Investor-Signatory-Letter-to-the-SEC Requesting-Mandatory-EEO-1-Disclosure_Nov-2021.pdf.

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