Today, in response to mounting legal pressure from the national LGBT organization Freedom to Work, as well as new Labor Department guidance stemming from the Supreme Court's marriage equality decision, Exxon-Mobil announced they would be updating their employee benefits policy to include same-sex couples.
In reaction to the news, Tico Almeida, founder and president of Freedom to Work, issued the following statement:
"Today is a victory for the freedom to work. After years of stubbornly refusing, we commend Exxon for joining the majority of the Fortune 500 business leaders that already treat gay and lesbian married couples equally under employee benefit plans," said Tico Almeida, founder and president of the LGBT organization Freedom to Work. "It's a shame Exxon waited until after the Labor Department issued official guidance explaining that their old policy does not comply with American law, and now it's time to move forward."
"We'd like to begin settlement talks next week in our Illinois lawsuit stemming from evidence that Exxon gave hiring preference to a less qualified straight applicant over a more qualified lesbian applicant," added Almeida. "It's time for Exxon to stop wasting its shareholders' money by running up legal bills on discrimination proceedings that can be settled right away if the corporation would simply add LGBT protections to Exxon's official equal employment opportunity document."
The news comes after earlier this year, 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 .
Exxon Mobil is one of the nation's most profitable corporation, and has been singled out by the Human Rights Campaign as the only corporation ever to receive a negative score on a standardized rating from zero to 100. Freedom to Work chose to bring this case in Illinois, as the State outlawed sexual orientation discrimination in 2006, while other states, like Texas, where the organization also found evidence of Exxon's anti-LGBT hiring discrimination, has no such law.
FOR MORE INFORMATION: bigstory.ap.org/article/exxon-offer-benefits-same-sex-couples-us .