Micron Technology
decided Tuesday to amend its company policy so
employees can no longer be fired on the basis of their
sexual orientation. The move comes after The Advocaterevealed last week that the
Boise, Idaho, company's board of directors had
ignored an unprecedented 55% shareholder vote that
favored adding both sexual orientation and gender
identity to Micron's nondiscrimination policies.
That shareholder resolution, filed by New York City
comptroller William C. Thompson Jr. on behalf of the
New York City Pension Fund System last June, was the
first concerning sexual orientation nondiscrimination to
receive a majority vote at any U.S. company.
In a letter to Thompson on Tuesday, Micron's vice
president of human resources, Patrick T. Otte, wrote,
"Following conversations with our shareholders
regarding nondiscrimination in the workplace, the Micron
board today revisited its equal opportunity employment
policies and came to a decision to add sexual
orientation to its nondiscrimination language."
The company said in its letter that the change would make
its policy consistent across all its work sites, since
its California employees already have sexual
orientation protections. The company was also in the
process of revising its nondiscrimination policies at its
Oregon site to include sexual orientation, following
recent changes in that state's law.
The Micron board, however, did not move to add gender
identity protections to its policies. Company
spokesperson Daniel Francisco gave no reasoning for
the decision but said they were simply not considering
that change at this time.
Jeff Simmons, communications director for the New York City
Pension Fund System, said Thompson was pleased that
Micron had acquiesced to its shareholders.
"However," Simmons added, "we are
disappointed that Micron has not fully embraced the
scope of our resolution and instead has only amended its
policy to include sexual orientation but not gender
identity." Simmons said the comptroller would
continue to push for Micron to include gender identity
protections.
Micron, which makes memory components and image sensors used
in computers, cell phones, and cameras, employs about
11,000 people in Idaho, making it the largest private
employer statewide. The company has about 23,000
employees worldwide.(Kerry Eleveld,
The Advocate)
