SAN FRANCISCO, CA (December 11, 2013) - Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, received a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to LGBT workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC). Littler joins the ranks of a record 303 major U.S. businesses which also earned top marks this year.
“Diversity and inclusion is a key element of Littler’s identity and a core value that is critical to the firm’s future and its success,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “Littler is unwavering in its commitment to creating a workplace where anyone can succeed and we are proud to be recognized by such organizations as the HRC Foundation, which is dedicated to achieving equality for the LGBT community.”
In addition to the firm’s comprehensive diversity and inclusion platform, this year the firm was involved in a number of new initiatives. Littler created a Diversity & Inclusion Practice Group designed to educate companies about the benefits of having a highly diverse workforce and to guide them in making appropriate decisions regarding diversity strategies. Furthermore, the firm was one of 278 businesses that joined an amicus brief in United States v. Windsor, advising the United States Supreme Court on the impact of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation's, CEI evaluates businesses’ adoption of inclusive policies, practices and benefits for LGBT employees. It is a nationally recognized report which encompasses all major industry sectors and geographic regions of the U.S. This year, more than 145 law firms, including a majority of American Lawyer 200 firms, participated in the CEI. Of these firms, 81 received a perfect 100-percent score, establishing law firms as the most represented industry among participants receiving a perfect score.
“This will go down in history as the year that corporate support for equality left the boardroom and reached each and every corner of this country,” said HRC President Chad Griffin in a press release issued by the organization. “Not only do fair-minded companies guarantee fair treatment to millions of LGBT employees in all 50 states, but now those same companies are fighting for full legal equality in state legislatures, in the halls of Congress and before the U.S. Supreme Court.”
The 2014 CEI rated a total of 737 private employers in various industries. View the full report.
About the Human Rights Campaign Foundation
As the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, the Human Rights Campaign represents a force of more than one million members and supporters nationwide-all committed to making HRC’s vision a reality. Founded in 1980, HRC advocates on behalf of LGBT Americans, mobilizes grassroots actions in diverse communities, invests strategically to elect fair-minded individuals to office and educates the public about LGBT issues.
About Littler Mendelson
Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice with more than 1,000 attorneys in over 60 offices worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and serves as a single source solution provider to the global employer community. Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for over 70 years. Littler is the collective trade name for an international legal practice, the practicing entities of which are separate and distinct professional firms. For more information visit: www.littler.com.