ARKANSAS – Wal-Mart, the nation’s largest private employer, has added gender identity and expression to its employment non-discrimination policy. The company’s nondiscrimination policy already included sexual orientation.
Phillip Keene, a company spokesperson, confirmed the change was made several weeks ago adding, “We’ve had a strong anti-discrimination policy for a long time.”
Wal-Mart scored relatively poorly on the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) annual Corporate Equality Index, which ranks major companies on their LGBT policies and practices. Wal-Mart received a 40 percent ranking out of 100, for a failure to amend its anti-discrimination policy to include gender protections last year.
“What matters in the workplace is how you do your job, not your gender identity or sexual orientation,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “As the nation’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart shows that doing the right thing is also good for business. We urge them to continue to move forward by ensuring all of their LGBT employees receive equal benefits.”
News of the new policy has not been widely publicized.
