CEI 2O17
Rating System and Methodology
for LGBT workers, including any connections with organizations that engage in anti-LGBT activities. Employers are not rated until all appropriate information has been gathered and verified to the extent possible. In total, the sources used include: ●● The HRC Foundation’s CEI survey; ●● Internal Revenue Service 990 tax filings for business
foundations’ gifts to anti-LGBT groups;
●● Case law and news accounts for allegations of discrimination on
the basis of sexual orientation and/or gender identity or expression that have been brought against any of these businesses;
●● Individuals or unofficial LGBT employee groups that report
information to the HRC Foundation; and
●● The HRC Foundation Workplace Project, which since 1995 has collected information
on U.S. employers and today maintains the most accurate and extensive database of business policies that affect LGBT workers and their families.
If a business was found to have a connection with an anti-LGBT organization or activity, the HRC Foundation contacted the business and provided an opportunity to respond and ensure, to the best of its ability, that no such action would occur in the future. Businesses unwilling to do so are penalized 25 points from their overall rating through Criterion 5.
Official and Unofficial Ratings
The HRC Foundation may rate businesses that have not submitted a survey this year if the business had submitted a survey in previous years and the information is determined to be accurate, or if the HRC Foundation has obtained sufficient information to
provide an individual rating. In both cases, the HRC Foundation notifies the business of the official rating and asks for any updates or clarification. A total number of 2,106 received invitations to take part in the survey. ●● Of that number, 750 submitted surveys, and 887 were officially rated. Last year, a total of
1,938 businesses were sent invitations, 676 submitted surveys and 845 were rated. ●● Seventy-two businesses participated for the first time this year, increasing the total
number of rated businesses. The HRC Foundation has spotlighted those Fortune 500 companies that, after repeated invitations, have never responded to the annual CEI survey. These 156 Fortune 500 companies are noted in gray in Appendix B and C along as unofficial CEI ratings. The driver to participate in the CEI survey process is transparency. The goal in reporting
out what is publicly available as unofficial ratings is to highlight the level of uncertainty that a prospective LGBT employee faces when looking for an employer. Our staff and researchers put on the hat as a prospective employee, ascertaining what we can from gather from publicly available information about the policies and benefits that would most impact and LGBT employee and their family, and applying those findings to our CEI criteria. Actively participating in the CEI survey takes the guesswork out of what an employee can expect from an employer when it comes to the tangible fears and concerns LGBT employees can face in the workplace.
www.hrc.org/cei
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