All new measures now include gender identity

View Non-Discrimination proposal

Continuing a decade-long campaign by the New York City Comptroller's Office, William C. Thompson, Jr. has filed a series of shareholder resolutions calling on some of America’s largest companies to strengthen prohibitions against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The resolutions were filed on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System (NYCERS), New York City Police Department Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, New York City Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) and New York City Board of Education Retirement System.

The resolutions call for companies that have not already done so to revise their policies to forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. All are among the 1,000 largest companies in the United States, as ranked by Fortune.

“We must aggressively demand that companies across America treat all of their employees with dignity and respect,” Thompson said. “If companies fail to adopt these measures, they are sending a direct signal that they do not value everyone equally, and in doing so are not providing shields against bias and discrimination.”

He added: “I am proud to work with Pension Funds who wholeheartedly believe that discrimination in any form should not be tolerated, and that people should not be victimized in the workplace. We are joined in our resolve to help bring equality to the workplace.”

This proxy season, the Comptroller and the Funds have broadened the resolutions to not only focus on sexual orientation but to include language urging companies to adhere to the Equality Principles, a 10-point code of conduct aimed at advancing workplace equality by barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Resolutions were filed with: Advance Auto Parts of Roanoke, VA, Timken Company of Canton, OH, Wesco International of Pittsburgh, PA, HHC Insurance Holdings of Houston, TX, LandAmerica Financial Group of Glen Allen, TX, First Horizon Financial Corporation of Memphis, TN, and Cleveland-Cliffs, Inc. of Cleveland, OH.

Additionally, the City has refiled resolutions with two companies in which the measures did not pass last year but received enough shares voted in their favor to allow resubmission. One was filed with Robert Half International of Menlo Park, CA on behalf of all five funds. Last year, 18.7 percent of votes cast were cast in its favor.

Thompson also submitted (the seventh time it has been filed) with the ExxonMobil Corporation of Irving, TX. Last year, 34.6 percent of votes cast were cast in favor of the proposal, which was triggered by ExxonMobil's repeal of a policy that formally prohibited discrimination. The measure was filed on behalf of the New York City Employees’ Retirement System and the New York City Fire Department Pension Fund.

Currently, the five Pension Funds have more than $96 billion in holdings. They hold 22,098,133 shares worth nearly $1.7 billion in the nine companies.

“We at NYCERS are working hard to persuade companies to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” said NYCERS Trustee and New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum. “Companies that follow fair labor and hiring practices are not only doing the right thing for their employees but also providing a better long-term investment for their shareholders.”

The resolutions build on proposals submitted by the Pension Funds for more than a decade asking dozens of Fortune 500 companies to adopt policies that explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. To date, 36 companies have amended their policies to include protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

“The New York City Pension Funds have been at the forefront of commitment in pursuing these measures because they, and I, believe in the importance of strong labor standards and guaranteed equal treatment,” Thompson said. “As more companies across America make this commitment, we will endeavor to identify those who resist change and demand that they shed ignorance and embrace acceptance.”

In addition to Thompson, the trustees for the Pension Funds are:

NYCERS: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum; Borough Presidents Scott Stringer (Manhattan), Helen Marshall (Queens), Marty Markowitz (Brooklyn), Adolfo Carrion (Bronx), and James Molinaro (Staten Island); Lillian Roberts, Executive Director, District Council 37, AFSCME; Roger Toussaint, President Transport Workers Union Local 100; and, Carroll (Carl) Haynes, President, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 237.

TRS: New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark (Chair); Deputy Chancellor Kathleen Grimm, New York City Department of Education; and, Sandra March, Melvyn Aaronson and Mona Romain, all of the United Federation of Teachers.

Fire Department Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta (Chair); New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; Stephen Cassidy, President, James Slevin, Vice President, Robert Straub, Treasurer, and John Kelly, Brooklyn Representative and Chair, Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York; Peter Gorman, President and Captains’ Rep., Nicholas J. Visconti, Chiefs’ Rep., and Stephen J. Carbone, Lieutenants’ Rep., Uniformed Fire Officers Association; and, Joseph Gagliardi, Marine Engineers Association.

Police Pension Fund: Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New York City Finance Commissioner Martha E. Stark; New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly (Chair); Patrick Lynch, Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association; Michael Palladino, Detectives Endowment Association; Edwin Mullins, Sergeants Benevolent Association; Anthony Garvey, Lieutenants Benevolent Association; and, John Driscoll, Captains Endowment Association.

BERS: mayoral appointees Schools Chancellor Joel Klein, Alan Aviles, Philip Berry, David Chang, Tino Hernandez, Augusta Souza Kappner, Richard Menschel and Marita Regan; Borough President appointees Martine G. Guerrier (Brooklyn), Vivian Farmery (Manhattan), Michael Flowers (Queens), and Joan Correale (Staten Island); and employee members Thomas J. Malanga of the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 891, and Milagros Rodriguez of District Council 37, Local 372.

###