Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Know Your Rights: Ensuring Equality for LGBTQ Employees
GUEST COLUMN
by Paige M. Steffen, Esq., Clark Hill PLC
2016-12-28

This article shared 474 times since Wed Dec 28, 2016
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


The Corporate Equality Index ( "CEI" ), an annual list published by the Human Rights Campaign ( "HRC" ) Foundation that rates workplaces on LGBTQ equality, recently released its 15th Edition, which reported that a record number of businesses are now embracing inclusive policies for LGBTQ employees.

The CEI praises the success of the nation's largest employers, stating that they have "demonstrated through their actions that LGBTQ people are not just tolerated, but welcomed in their workplaces and communities."

In a time of turmoil and uncertainty, these companies are taking the lead to ensure that their most valuable assets, their employees, are protected and treated with respect and equality.

The HRC Foundation is one of the largest advocacy groups for the LGBTQ community, and it has used the CEI as a platform to gauge companies' level of LGBTQ workplace inclusion and to encourage all employers to promote equality for all employees. Approximately 900 companies with a minimum of 500 full-time employees throughout the U.S., representing almost every industry, participated in this year's CEI. All of the involved companies were ranked with a score from 0 to 100 depending on the inclusiveness of its workplace.

The scores are calculated based upon the following categories: ( 1 ) Equal employment opportunity policy, ( 2 ) Employment benefits ( equivalent spousal and partner benefits ); ( 3 ) Organizational LGBTQ competency; and ( 4 ) Public commitment to LGBTQ-specific efforts. Further, if the participating company was involved in a large-scale official or public anti-LGBTQ event, that company's score would be significantly decreased.

The CEI contained encouraging reports of great successes in ensuring fairness and equality in the workplace. Notably, 517 of the CEI-ranked companies, which is up from last year's 407, received perfect scores on this year's Index. More than 40 of the CEI-ranked companies with perfect scores, including Boeing, Crate and Barrel, Sears Holdings, and several law firms are based in Illinois.

Not only is this the largest number of companies receiving top scores, it is also the largest jump in a single year. Many additional CEI-rated companies, approximately 650 in total, offer transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage, and more than 90% of the businesses have implemented both sexual orientation and gender identity employment protections.

In addition, 50% of the Fortune 500 companies participating in this year's CEI offer transgender-inclusive healthcare coverage. To put this figure into perspective, not a single Fortune 500 company provided such coverage in 2002, and less than 10% provided coverage in 2011.

Further, 387 CEI-rated companies have adopted gender transition guidelines for employees in efforts to establish best practices for transgender inclusion in the workplace. These companies have also invested in education. For instance, 86% of the CEI-rated businesses offer education and training programs that specifically include definitions of and/or scenarios on gender identity in the workplace.

As evidenced by the above statistics, the public sector has led and continues to lead the way in workplace equality. Dozens of corporations have taken strong stances and spoken publically against federal and state bills that may retract from the progress that has been made in LGBTQ equality.

These public efforts by some of the nation's—and the world's—largest employers have reportedly helped block more than 100 laws across the U.S. that could have been detrimental to the LGBTQ community. For example, Wal-Mart, the nation's largest public employer with more than two million employees, helped defeat anti-LGBTQ laws in Arkansas. Whole Foods Market, among hundreds of other corporations, also intends to speak out against any and all Texas laws seen as hostile to LGBTQ persons.

The HRC Foundation encourages all companies to use the CEI as a guide to help develop and successfully implement inclusive LGBTQ policies and protections.

However, these companies' efforts to promote inclusive policies, practices, protections, and benefits for LGBTQ employees have been met with backlash. For instance, some retailers who have implemented supportive LGBTQ policies and made statements in support of the LGBTQ community have faced protests and boycotts from consumers. One of the most publicized boycotts came after Target pledged that customers and employees could use the bathroom of their gender identity. Additionally, there are still companies that do not recognize basic hiring protections for LGBTQ or recognize gender identity in their company policies.

While it is important to recognize the great strides that have been made in LGBTQ equality, it is equally important to understand that there is significant work to be done and that there are still barriers to full equality for the LGBTQ community.

Understanding and navigating your rights as an employee can be challenging and overwhelming. In the event that you have any questions, you may want to contact an attorney to discuss your situation.

Paige M. Steffen is an Associate Attorney in Clark Hill PLC's Chicago office. She concentrates her practice on insurance and health care law. Contact her at 312-517-7501 or psteffen@clarkhill.com .


This article shared 474 times since Wed Dec 28, 2016
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Nex Benedict's autopsy report released
2024-03-27
The full autopsy report for Nex Benedict (he/they)—a 16-year-old transgender and Indigenous student from Oklahoma's Owasso High School who died in February a day after a school fight—has been released. The Oklahoma Office of the Chie ...


Gay News

Thailand parliament passes landmark marriage bill
2024-03-27
On March 27, Thailand's parliament approved a marriage-equality bill by an overwhelmingly large margin—a landmark step that moves one of Asia's most liberal countries closer to legalizing same-sex unions, media ...


Gay News

Wyoming is latest state to ban gender-affirming care for minors
2024-03-24
On March 22, Wyoming became the latest state to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors, The Hill noted. In doing so, it joined 23 other states that passed laws restricting or banning the treatment. Legislators in both ...


Gay News

Family of 2004 murder victim holds event in Lake View; reward announced
2024-03-24
The year 2004, for the family and friends of Lake View resident Kevin Clewer, will forever be marked by tragedy. On March 24 of that year, Clewer, 31, was found in his apartment at 3444 N. Elaine Pl.; he was the ...


Gay News

No charges filed in Nex Benedict fight; campaigns call for Walters' removal
2024-03-22
In Oklahoma, Tulsa County District Attorney Stephen Kunzweiler announced that no charges will be filed in connection with the fight that happened the day before transgender, nonbinary high school student Nex Benedict died by suicide, NBC ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Va. marriage bill, AARP, online counseling, Idaho items, late activist
2024-03-21
Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed bills protecting same-sex marriages at a state level, surprising some, WRIC reported. The bills—passed out of both chambers along mostly party lines—will require clerks ...


Gay News

WORLD Leaked messages, Panama action, author dies at 32, Japan court, out athletes
2024-03-15
Hundreds of messages from an internal chat board for an international group of transgender health professionals were leaked in a report and framed as revealing serious health risks associated with gender-affirming care, including cancer, according to ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Missouri measure, HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, judge, Texas schools
2024-03-15
In Missouri, a newly proposed law could charge teachers and counselors with a felony and require them to register as sex offenders if they're found guilty of supporting transgender students who are socially transitioning, CNN noted. ...


Gay News

College athletes sue NCAA over transgender policies
2024-03-15
Former Kentucky swimmer Riley Gaines was among a group of college athletes who filed a lawsuit against the NCAA on March 14, accusing it of violating their Title IX rights by allowing trans swimmer Lia Thomas ...


Gay News

LGBTQ+ people attacked by mobs in Greece
2024-03-14
Just weeks after a landmark law granted same-sex couples in Greece the right to marry, nearly 200 people dressed in black chased a transgender couple through the town square in Thessaloniki, the country's "second city" and ...


Gay News

Florida settles 'Don't Say Gay' lawsuit
2024-03-11
On March 11, the state of Florida settled a multi-year lawsuit against the so-called "Don't Say Gay" law, which limits how LGBTQ+ topics can be discussed and presented in schools, The Hill reported. The settlement agreement ...


Gay News

"X" gender marker now available on Illinois driver's licenses and state ID cards
2024-03-11
After several years of preparation, the Illinois Secretary of State's office is has been making the X gender designation available for non-binary residents and others not utilizing the M or F designations, since the beginning of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israeli reservist, man detained, Ghana bill, medic denied honor
2024-03-08
Hanania Ben-Shimon—the gay Israel Defense Forces reservist who was wounded as he killed one of the terrorists in the attack at the A-Za'ayem checkpoint near Ma'ale Adumim recently—published a post in which he pleaded that his ...


Gay News

Court blocks Texas attorney general's demand for PFLAG data
2024-03-01
From a press release: AUSTIN, Texas—Travis County District Court Judge Maria Cantú Hexel on March 1 blocked the latest effort by the Texas Attorney General's Office to persecute Texas families with transgender youth, temporarily haltin ...


Gay News

WORLD Canadian politics, Australian murders, Finnish study, 'Anatomy'
2024-03-01
Canadian conservatives are divided over an anti-trans policy that Alberta Premier Danielle Smith handed down in her province, The Guardian reported. The policy includes a ban on hormonal treatment, puberty ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.