The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has just released its 2006-7 report, State of the Workplace for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Americans. The most striking news this year is the progress made towards transgender equality. Now, 25% percent of Fortune 500 companies ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity, versus 1 percent at the beginning of 2000. Several (IBM, Eastman Kodak, American Express, and Microsoft) provide “comprehensive transgender health benefits.” There is still obvious room for progress, but the trend is in the right direction.
The number of Fortune 500 firms offering domestic partner benefits is up to 267 from 250 last year, and almost 90% of the companies include sexual orientation in their anti-discrimination policies. It’s unfortunate, though, that with so many companies making a policy of non-discrimination, only 33 have stated their official support for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). What’s up with that?
Thirty-four companies back the federal Tax Equity for Domestic Partner and Health Plan Beneficiaries Act, which would exempt domestic-partner health benefits from employee income tax and employer payroll tax. This bill hasn’t gotten as much press as bills related to either relationship recognition or hate crimes—and perhaps rightly so, being neither so momentous or lifesaving, but would have a clear impact on many families’ take-home pay.
There’s more, including information on benefits and protections from state and local jurisdictions, law firms, and charities, colleges and universities. It may not be as gripping as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, but it’s a must-read for anyone involved in workplace policies, employee resource groups, human resources, and politics or political activism. It may also serve as a partial buying guide for LGBT consumers who want to do business with LGBT-friendly companies—though of course an LGBT-friendly company may still be evil for completely different reasons.