195 honored in anti-bias Corporate Equality Index

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WASHINGTON – National law firm Nixon Peabody LLP and global accounting and professional services provider Ernst & Young LLP are among the companies with operations in Rhode Island that were honored with perfect scores in the sixth annual Corporate Equality Index. San Antonio-based Clear Channel Communications Inc. (NYSE: CCU), a global media and entertainment company whose properties include local radio stations WHJY-FM, WHJJ-FM, WSNE-FM and WHJJ-AM, also took top honors.
The Corporate Equality Index – a service of the nonprofit Human Rights Campaign Foundation – honors companies with comprehensive workplace policies for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees. To achieve a perfect score, a firm must meet criteria that include providing diversity training, a written nondiscrimination policy that covers sexual orientation, inclusive health insurance, bereavement and family leave policies; and GLBT employee support groups.

Other companies receiving perfect scores of 100 points this year include utility companies Keyspan Corp. (KSE) and National Grid USA; the hospitality industry’s Global Hyatt Corp. and Marriott International Inc. (MAR); MasterCard Inc. (MA) and Visa; retailers Best Buy Co. Inc. (BBY), Borders Group Inc. (BGP), JC Penney Co. Inc. (JCP), Macy’s Inc. (M), Nordstrom Inc. (JWN), Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) and Walgreens Co. (WAG); the mortgage industry’s Countrywide Financial Corp. (CFC) and Fannie Mae (FNM); financial services’ The Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. (BSC), Hartford Financial Services Co. (HIG), HSBC North America Holdings Inc. (HBC), J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Lehman Brothers Holdings (LEH), Morgan Stanley (MS), PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and UBS AG (UBS), as well as Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Capital One Financial Corp. (COF), Citigroup Inc. (C), Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU), Wachovia Corp. (WB), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC); insurers Aetna Inc. (AET), The Allstate Corp. (ALL) and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.; manufacturers The Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and PepsiCo Inc. (PEP), Cargill Inc., Chevron Corp. (CVX), Corning Inc. (GLW), DuPont (E.I. du Pont de Nemours) (DD) and Pfizer Inc. (PFE); Sprint Nextel Corp (S); and the travel and transportation industry’s AMR Corp. (American Airlines), US Airways Group Inc. (LCC) and United Parcel Service Inc. (UPS).
When the index was first released in 2002, only 13 companies received the top rating. This year, the Human Rights Campaign said, 195 businesses met all criteria.

“More businesses than ever before have recognized the value of a diverse and dedicated work force,” Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese said in a statement. “More importantly, these employers understand that discrimination against GLBT workers will ultimately hurt their ability to compete in the global marketplace.”
The full Corporate Equality Index report has been posted by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation at www.hrc.org/cei.

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