Wal-Mart Stores Inc changed its anti-discrimination policy to include gay and lesbian employees after several workers at the largest private employer in the US complained that they felt left out.
Company managers will outline the new protections today to the Bentonville, Arkansas-based chain's 1.3 million employees, spokeswoman Mona Williams said. The policy change took effect May 1.
Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has no plans to extend medical benefits to unmarried couples "regardless of sexual orientation," Williams said. Senior management received several letters over the past few months from gay Wal-Mart workers asking to be included in the anti-bias policy, Williams said.
The Pride Foundation, a Seattle gays rights group, also pushed for changes.
"It's a move on Wal-Mart's part to be a good citizen," said Deborah Weinstein, a partner of employment law firm Eckert, Seamans, Cherin & Mellott in Philadelphia. "Now the question is whether they can live up to their commitment because their track record hasn't been so great."
Wal-Mart, which has been sued by the US government 16 times for allegedly violating anti-discrimination laws, is asking a federal judge to not grant class-action status to a lawsuit that claims the company pays female employees less than their male counterparts.
The Pride Foundation's offices are closed for the US Independence Day holiday until July 9, according to a message on its answering machine.
Shares of Wal-Mart rose US$1.25 to US$55.60 at 3:27pm in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock had risen 7.6 percent this year.
Wal-Mart will include the protections for gays and lesbians in its employee handbooks and its computer-based training on diversity and sexual harassment, Williams said.
The retailer said it has been considering the change for some time and wasn't responding to the US Supreme Court's decision last week to strike down a sodomy law in Texas.
"We're much more responsive to our own associates and customers than an outside group," Williams said. The "associates said they love this company and wanted to feel like it was their Wal-Mart. We took that to heart and listened so absolutely everyone feels included."
Nine out of the 10 largest Fortune 500 companies have rules prohibiting discrimination against gay workers, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a Washington-based gay-rights organization that monitors discrimination laws. Exxon-Mobil Corp is the exception.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from