Updated: March 29, 2019, 2:20 p.m.
For the second time in as many years, two San Antonio companies were among the 571 businesses across the country that scored 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index.
The United Services Automobile Association (USAA), which provides financial products to military members and families, and Rackspace, a managed cloud computing company based in Windcrest, both had perfect scores.
Three San Antonio corporations did not respond to invitations to take the CEI survey and received “unofficial” ratings based on public information and information supplied to HRC by LGBT employee groups or individual employees. Those companies are CST Brands with a score of 10, Valero Energy Corp. with a score of 20 and H.E. Butt Grocery Company (H-E-B) got a score of 30.
H-E-B responds to survey results
Like the last three years, H-E-B, which has the reputation for being a good place for LGBTQ people to work, came up short in HRC’s assessment:
- 15 point deduction because does not prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation for all operations
- 15 point deduction because company does not prohibit discrimination based on gender identity for all operations
- 10 point deduction for lack of equivalency in same- and different-sex spousal medical and soft benefits.
- 10 point deduction for lack of equal health coverage for transgender individuals without exclusion for medically necessary care
- 15 point deduction for lack of three distinct efforts of outreach or engagement to broader LGBTQ community, and if supplier diversity program is in place, must include LGBTQ suppliers.
- 5 point deduction for lack of contractor/supplier non-discrimination standards and philanthropic giving guidelines
Out In SA received the following statement from the grocer:
“H-E-B does not participate in third party surveys. We have consistently been ranked nationally as one of the best places to work which speaks to our culture and longstanding commitment to respecting diversity and inclusion. H-E-B’s promise to our customers and Partners is – each and every person counts. Our diversity and inclusion programs include the workplace, inclusive benefits, Partner celebrations and community engagement. We also would like to note that on the 6 criteria listed where we were said to fall short, H-E-B does all of those items.”
Nationwide, 136 Fortune 500 companies were given unofficial CEI scores based on publicly available information.
“The top-scoring companies on this year’s CEI are not only establishing policies that affirm and include employees here in the United States, they are applying these policies to their global operations and impacting millions of people beyond our shores,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “Time and again, leading American businesses have shown that protecting their employees and customers from discrimination isn’t just the right thing to do — it’s also good for business.”
This article was updated to include H-E-B’s statement.
