Including gender identity or expression in anti-discrimination policies is common among Memphis-area employers

FedEx is the largest employer in
Memphis to protect workers
from discrimination based
on gender identity.

Tennessee Equality Project and other allies in the community call on the Memphis City Council to amend the proposed non-discrimination ordinance one more time to add gender identity or expression. These additional non-merit factors are also included in the anti-discrimination policies of several Memphis-area employers. 

The number of Fortune 500 companies and other employers that include gender identity or expression in the anti-discrimination policies increases each year. 80% of CEI-rated employers provide employment protections on the basis of gender identity or expression — the highest figure to date. The proportion of employers offering these protections has increased dramatically since the first CEI 2002 when just 5 percent of rated businesses included gender identity in their non-discrimination policies. Now eight in ten rated businesses afford workplace protections on the basis of gender identity.

This list of employers comes from HRC's Corporate Equality Index (CEI), company websites, and reliable employees of  these companies. A large number of Memphis-area companies include gender identity or expression in employment non-discrimination policies (this list is not exhaustive): 

AFLAC; AT&T; Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz PC; Bank of America; Best Buy; Burger King; Caesar’s Entertainment; Cargill; Coca-Cola; Comcast; Costco; Delloitte & Touche; Delta Airlines; Ernst & Young; Family Dollar Store;  FedEx; First Horizon National; Harrah’s Entertainment; Hilton Hotel; Home Depot; Humana; Hyatt Hotels; J.C. Penny; Kellogg; Kroger; Macy’s; Marriott; Medtronic; Merck; Nike; Office Depot; OfficeMax; Pepsi Beverages Co.; PetSmart; Pfizer; Raymond James; Sears; ServiceMaster; Staples; Starbucks; State Farm; SunTrust Banks; Target; UnitedHealth Group; Wachovia Bank; Walgreens; Whole Foods Market; Wells Fargo Bank; Wal-Mart; Williams-Sonoma; and United Parcel Service.

In addition, most employees of Federal Government agencies are also protected from discrimination based on gender identity or expression. See http://www.opm.gov/diversity/Transgender/Guidance.asp for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management  policy guidance regarding the employment of transgender individuals in the Federal workplace. Some of the Federal Agencies that protect their transgender employees from discrimination in the workplace include the US Postal Service, the Social Security Administration, the IRS, Secret Service, the FBI, and the VA Hospital . 

It's hard to drive through any part of the City of Memphis without running across an employer that offers LGBT-inclusive workplace protections. The City of Memphis would be in good company to add these protections to its employment non-discrimination ordinance.

- Jonathan Cole

Do you work for a fully LGBT-inclusive employer in Memphis?

Send a message in support of
LGBT-inclusive workplace protections
to the Memphis City Council.

You may be able to advocate for a fully inclusive employment non-discrimination ordinance for City of Memphis employees

You may be working for an employer which fully protects lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people from discrimination on the job in Memphis?

Here's a partial list of companies in the Memphis area which offer anti-discrimination policies which provide equal opportunity in employment without regard to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression: Best Buy; Costco; Comcast;  FedEx;  First Horizon;  Harrah’s Entertainment;  Hilton; J.C. Penny; Kroger; Macy’s; Medtronic; Merck;  Nike; Office Depot; Sears;  Starbucks; State Farm; SunTrust Banks; Target; United Parcel Service;  Wachovia Bank; Walgreens; Wal-Mart; and Williams-Sonoma.

If you work for any of the above companies, send the following message to the Memphis City Council at http://bit.ly/ContactCityCouncil. Copy and paste this message to "ALL" council members in the link provided and be sure to add your company name:

Dear Memphis City Council,

I am writing to thank the Memphis City Council for voting to add national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation to the Memphis employment non-discrimination ordinance on Tuesday, Sept. 18.

While I am grateful for the inclusion of the above non-merit factors, I am deeply concerned that gender identity and gender expression were omitted from this ordinance. I work for [insert company name], a company in the Memphis area, which offers LGBT-inclusive workplace protections in its anti-discrimination policy. In other words, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in my workplace are protected from discrimination in hiring, promotion or job retention.

Many large Memphis-area businesses like FedEx, Medtronic, Comcast, Harrah’s Entertainment, Hilton, Starbucks, First Horizon, Kroger, Delta, Nike and Merck also provide LGBT inclusive anti-discrimination policies. It’s simply good business to protect all employees on the job. While I can’t speak officially on behalf of my employer, I feel that my company has learned that fully inclusive employment policies help to recruit and retain the most talented and qualified people to the workforce.

Memphis would be in good company if city government were to follow the lead of these employers in providing these same protections. To ensure a fully inclusive ordinance, I urge you to vote to add gender identity and gender expression to the proposed ordinance on Oct. 16.

Sincerely,

[Your Full Name]

FedEx called out for domestic partner benefits claims

National GLBT blogs are calling out Memphis-based FedEx on the issue of domestic partner benefits in light of the company being named to Fortune's "100 Best Companies to Work For" issue.

The Human Rights Campaign notes that although the company includes sexual orientation in its nondiscrimination policy, it doesn't include gender identity. They also point out that although FedEx says they offer domestic partner benefits, they only offer them to FedEx Office (used to be Kinko's) employees. The post goes on to add that FedEx does not offer partner benefits even in states where the law provides for marriage equality, referencing this communication, which cites the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Good As You includes a heartbreaking story from a FedEx employee who was denied bereavement leave for a partner who died. The blog also adds the detail that FedEx employees in California have partner benefits because it is mandated by state law.

At this point, the pressure campaign seems to be building. There is a great deal of anger about the gaps in benefits, but even more anger about the public recognition for benefits that are not available to all employees.

It is not clear whether any national organizations have been actively negotiating with FedEx to bring about changes to their human resources policies. I do know that the Tennessee Transgender Political Coalition has had discussions about policy changes with FedEx. I hope that the effort to bring attention to this story results in policy change for the benefit of FedEx employees around the country.