ExxonMobil has revised its Equal Employment Opportunity ( EEO ) policy to include protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Statement by Tico Almeida, founder and President of Freedom to Work, on news that Exxon-Mobil has finally added protections for LGBT employees. Almeida is a civil rights attorney who brought forward the historic and currently pending lawsuit Freedom to work v. ExxonMobil in Illinois in 2013:
"Exxon's management deserves little credit for finally adopting the LGBT fairness policies they have rejected year after year for almost two decades, but this is an important victory for the company's current LGBT employees and future LGBT job applicants," said Almeida.
"It's obvious Exxon is making these changes now because of mounting legal pressure and the impending risk of losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts thanks to President Obama's executive order."
Added Almeida, "We will continue prosecuting our civil rights lawsuit against Exxon in Illinois because the corporation should be held accountable for its discriminatory actions from the recent past. We will also remain vigilant and file new cases, including under the Obama executive order, based on any new evidence of discrimination that we find at Exxon. The new policy is a good step, but it must be implanted meaningfully to prevent future anti-LGBT discrimination at Exxon."
Freedom to Work brought a legal complaint against Exxon-Mobil after the organization, in cooperation with the experts at the Equal Rights Center, sent nearly identical resumes to Exxon's office in Patoka, Illinois, and Exxon gave hiring preference to a lesser qualified straight applicant over a more qualified lesbian-identified applicant.
VIEW THE COMPLAINT HERE: docs.google.com/file/d/0B5mOZEnJG6GOQnRLdmJ4X1BLMEk/edit .
FOR MORE INFORMATION: bigstory.ap.org/article/exxon-offer-benefits-same-sex-couples-us .
FreedomtoWork.org is a national organization committed to banning workplace harassment and career discrimination against lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender Americans through public education, policy analysis, and legal work.
