Wal-Mart Extends Job Rights to Gay Workers

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Wednesday broadened its anti-discrimination policy to cover gay and lesbian workers, bringing the company into line with most other big companies.

“We’ve had race, gender, age, disability. We’re now including sexual orientation,” said Tom Williams, a spokesman for the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer, which is the world’s biggest company and largest private-sector employer.

Just eight of the 100 largest Fortune 500 companies do not include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policies, according to Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay and lesbian political organization.

Gay rights groups welcomed the move.

“This action helps ensure that Wal-Mart’s gay and lesbian employees will be judged on their merits, not on their sexual orientation,” said Zack Wright, a lawyer with Seattle-based Pride Foundation, which pushed Wal-Mart to change its policy.

Wal-Mart has drawn plaudits from Christian groups but ridicule from others for banning sexy magazines and covering up sexually suggestive headlines on magazines in its checkout aisles.

Broadening its anti-discrimination policy puts it squarely at the center of a hot-button issue in corporate America.

Gay rights groups and shareholder activists have been putting pressure on major companies to adopt similar policies.

Wal-Mart, which is facing several lawsuits alleging sex discrimination, said the new policy would go into effect immediately, and store employees would be notified of the change.

Wal-Mart’s employee handbook also will include new language covering sexual orientation, and the retailer will offer a computer-based training session promoting respect for people, regardless of their sexual orientation.