USA Today names UCOR a national Top Workplace for a second year
Oak Ridge, Tennessee, March 24, 2025 — At a recent ceremony in Las Vegas, USA Today and Energage named United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR) to their list of national Top Workplaces. The award was based solely on feedback provided by the UCOR workforce through a confidential survey conducted by Energage. UCOR is the lead cleanup contractor for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation.
“A Top Workplace award brings a company’s culture to the national stage and it helps them differentiate themselves in a fiercely competitive market space,” said Eric Rubino, Energage CEO. “It’s an honor for the workforce and an effective tool to attract the right talent to an organization.”
A group of UCOR workers prepare to enter the remaining hot cell at the former ORNL Radioisotope
Energage invited more than 39,000 organizations to participate in the Top Workplaces USA survey. Awards are given in four categories. Across Tennessee, 36 companies were recognized as national Top Workplaces. In Oak Ridge and Knoxville, nine companies were included in the list, but once again, UCOR was the only company to be recognized in the “Large (1,000-2,499 employees)” category. Results are calculated by comparing the survey’s research-based statements, including 15 Culture Drivers, which are proven to predict high performance against industry benchmarks.
UCOR has been named a regional Top Workplace by the Knoxville News Sentinel since we began using the Energage survey in 2022. We have also received two national Top Workplaces Culture Excellence Awards: Benefits & Compensation in 2023 and Professional Development in 2024.
“Ensuring that we provide a safe and caring environment for our workforce is tantamount to our success. The Top Workplaces survey lets our workers tell us how we can continue to make it a workplace they feel proud of,” said UCOR President and CEO Ken Rueter. “Our workers do high-hazard work for the Department of Energy to move from cleanup today to a nuclear tomorrow. Knowing our workers feel our commitment to their wellbeing comes through in every aspect of their feedback.”
UCOR’s ~2,500 workers are dedicated to safely reducing environmental risk on the Oak Ridge Reservation while helping DOE’s Office of Science and the National Nuclear Security Administration continue their important missions. Learn more about the company at UCOR.com.
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Caption: Crews mobilize equipment to enter the last remaining hot cell of the Radioisotope Development Laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
