View Sexual Orientation Non-Discrimination Proposal

New York City Comptroller William C. Thompson, Jr. announced today that four Fortune 500 companies have endorsed shareholder resolutions submitted on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement Fund (NYCERS)and the Teachers Retirement System (TRS) to include sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. Thompson identified the companies as the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, the El Paso Corporation, the Smurfit-Stone Container Corporation, and the Masco Corporation. The Masco Corporation resolution was co-filed with Domini Social Investments.

The four companies have notified Thompson that they are revising their Equal Employment Opportunity Policies to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, bringing to 16 the number of companies that have made this change due to the City’s efforts. Accordingly, Thompson is withdrawing the shareholder proposals.

“I am pleased that Masco, Goodyear, Smurfit-Stone and the El Paso Corporation have agreed to offer stronger protection for their gay and lesbian employees,” Thompson said. “I can only hope that more of corporate America will see this as an important human and labor rights issue and will take steps to ensure that all employees can feel safe and secure in the workplace.”

Thompson added: “Ninety six Fortune 100 companies have adopted written nondiscrimination policies specifically citing sexual orientation, and I am hopeful that more corporations will see that this is the right thing to do and take action.”.

Adam Kanzer, Director of Shareholder Advocacy at Domini Social Investments, which was the lead filer of the Masco resolution, hailed the decision.

“We commend Masco for taking this important step to ensure workplace equality. By adopting a clear policy prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, Masco will not only provide a better workplace, but also improve its reputation and enhance its ability to recruit and retain quality employees,” Kanzer said.

“Companies that don't discriminate earn better returns for their investors, so complying with equal employment opportunity laws is more than the right thing to do – it’s good for City workers,” said Martha E. Stark, New York City Finance Commissioner and Chair of the Boards of Trustees of NYCERS and the Teachers' Retirement System. “I am happy to see that companies, in which we invest considerable City pension funds, will protect their employees by prohibiting all forms of discrimination. We call upon corporate America to once and for all resolve doubts about its commitment to equal employment opportunity.”

“This is excellent news and more good work by Comptroller Thompson and NYCERS,” said Kim I. Mills, education director for the Human Rights Campaign, the largest national gay and lesbian political organization. “We applaud these companies for quickly changing their policies to join the growing ranks of companies that are committed to treating their gay and lesbian employees fairly.”

“El Paso, Goodyear, Smurfit-Stone and Masco deserve credit for their responsiveness to shareholder concerns about fairness in the workplace,” said Shelley Alpern, Associate Vice President in charge of Social Research at Trillium Asset Management. “Without spending a dime, these four companies have added enormous value to their businesses in the form of enhanced loyalty, lower turnover, and appeal to corporate job-seekers.”

“This is good news for the Gay, Bisexual, Lesbian, and Transgender community and is a credit to NYCERS,” added Public Advocate and NYCERS Trustee Betsy Gotbaum. “We are able to lead corporate America in the right direction of bringing about the end of workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.”

The announcement comes several weeks after Thompson called on a number of Fortune 500 companies to adopt policies that specifically bar discrimination based on sexual orientation. The effort marked the fourth time NYCERS has asked one company, ExxonMobil, to amend its policy. The others - targeted for the first time - are: the Altell Corporation of Hazelwood, N.C.; Centerpoint Energy of Houston, Texas; Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company of Akron, Ohio; Waste Management, Inc. of Houston, Texas; and the Southern Company of Atlanta, Georgia.

Last year, 27.3 percent of ExxonMobil shares were voted in support of the resolution, which calls for ExxonMobil to adopt a policy stating: "Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation diminishes employee morale and productivity….Our company would benefit by a consistent, corporate-wide policy to enhance efforts to prevent discrimination, resolve complaints internally, and ensure a respectful and supportive atmosphere for all employees."

In addition to the companies cited above, the following companies have amended policies to bar discrimination based on sexual orientation due to the City’s efforts: CSX; Cracker Barrel; American Electric Power; Duke Energy; Dynegy; Marathon Oil; JCPenney; Mirant; TXU Corp.; Ingram Micro; Lockheed Martin and FedEx.

Serving with Thompson, Stark and Gotbaum on the NYCERS board are: Borough Presidents C. Virginia Fields (Manhattan), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), Helen Marshall (Queens), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director of District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President, TWU-Local 100; and, Carroll Haynes, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

In addition to Thompson and Stark, the TRS trustees are: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; Kathleen Grimm, Deputy Chancellor, New York City Department of Education; Phillip Berry, Vice President, Colgate Palmolive Inc.; and, Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

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