Segerstrom Will Change Policy and Ban Gay Discrimination : Debate: The company that owns South Coast Plaza says it will add ‘sexual preference’ to the list of factors that should not be considered in employment decisions.
Officials at C.J. Segerstrom & Sons said Tuesday they will change their written employee policies at South Coast Plaza and other management offices to specifically ban workplace discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Announcement of the move came on the same day that The Times published a story detailing a 2-year-old memo from a top executive at the firm who, after consulting with company attorneys, recommended that the development giant should reserve the right “to refuse to hire or promote because of sexual preference.”
Disclosure of the memo had outraged some members of Orange County’s gay community, prompting calls for possible legal action, protests and a boycott of South Coast Plaza, which the Segerstrom company owns and manages.
Segerstrom officials declined to elaborate on the announcement Tuesday. But Nancy West, human resources manager at the mall, said in a statement that “we do not inquire about the sexual preference of job applicants or employees, nor do we believe sexual preference has anything to do with the performance of our employees’ jobs.”
“To avoid any confusion,” however, the company statement said that the mall and other Segerstrom offices will amend their written policies, adding “sexual preference” to gender, race, religion and other factors that should not be considered in employment decisions.
Segerstrom employs about 250 people in South Coast Plaza management and other development offices. Stores in the mall maintain their own employment policies separately.
Segerstrom’s new stance drew accolades from activists in the gay community, while Orange County business leaders said that it could also prompt others in the private sector to follow suit.
But the Rev. Louis P. Sheldon, head of the Anaheim-based Traditional Values Coalition and a leader in the assault on homosexual rights legislation in Sacramento and nationwide, attacked the decision, calling it “foolish.”
“I’m sorry to see the Segerstrom company capitulating to economic terrorism,” Sheldon said.
He said he understood the company’s decision because “the homosexual community can be very vigilant.” He predicted that “people will just avoid the mall at Christmastime if they see gays blowing whistles and fondling each other.” But he suggested that Segerstrom may still face a “backlash” from heterosexuals who are offended by the move.
“Clearly, homosexuality is a dysfunctional behavior, and it is not fair for an employer to be forced to hire a person whose moral behavior is something that’s repugnant,” said Sheldon, who helped lead opposition to AB 101, the state bill that would have banned discrimination against homosexuals in the workplace. Gov. Wilson ultimately vetoed the bill.
Gen Marquez, a former personnel manager at South Coast Plaza, was disappointed by the announcement as well--but for very different reasons.
Marquez left Segerstrom earlier this year because of what she describes as its treatment of women and other minorities. (Officials with Segerstrom have repeatedly declined to discuss any employee personnel matters.) And she made the memo from Segerstrom operations director Skip Stephenson available to the gay community recently because she said its contents offended her. “They can say whatever they want,” Marquez said of the announcement, “but it’s the unwritten law, the unwritten feelings, that matter. . . . They’ll say whatever they have to on paper to make it all appear right.”
But Joel Loquvam, a civil rights attorney and Orange County gay activist, said of the announcement: “I applaud their thinking and their openness to change their policies. Especially in light of (the veto of) AB 101, gays need more protections than ever.
“And I think that with Segerstrom being as economically and politically viable as they are in Orange County, this has sent a wonderful statement to employers here that they have nothing to fear from affirming the rights of gays.”
The policy change was not enough to persuade one gay Segerstrom employee to use his name publicly in the newspaper--he said he fears repercussions at work--but the employee nonetheless said: “I think we did a little bit of good. This is an important step.”
He added: “This should affect more than just people in the mall, because it sends a signal to other business people, other developers. This is a big action by a big company.”
Business leaders in Orange County agreed.
Although data is scant on how many companies have adopted policies on gays in the workplace, there appears little doubt that Segerstrom is one of the biggest so far, business leaders and gay activists said.
“Whether it’s Segerstrom or Sacramento (taking action), as the issue takes a higher profile, this is going to prompt a lot of companies to take a look at their own policies,” said Todd B. Nicholson, president of the Industrial League of Orange County, a 900-firm association that includes the Segerstrom center.
“I think there’s growing sensitivity on the part of companies to try and ensure that their policies do not discriminate--not just in the typical (categories of) race and religion, but in sexual preference. It’s generally being recognized in the corporate community.”
And Lucien D. Truhill, president of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, said: “With a company of Segerstrom’s reputation, I’m sure other companies will take note of this and value what they’re doing. . . . I certainly would if I were president of a company.”
