Leggett names CEO; policy resolution rejected

Haffner succeeds Felix E. Wright, who will continue to serve as an active employee in his role as chairman of the board, the company said in a news release. Karl G. Glassman, executive vice president, succeeds Haffner as chief operating officer. Haffner is the company’s fourth CEO in 70 years.

Also today, the diversified manufacturer’s shareholders rejected a resolution that would include sexual orientation in the company’s equal employment opportunity policy.

Shareholders attending the annual meeting at the Fortune 500 firm’s Carthage headquarters rejected the proposal by Walden Asset Management, of Boston, to add discrimination protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers. The company’s board previously announced its opposition to the proposal.

Walden, which owns 260,200 of the company’s 282.4 million outstanding shares, is a division of Boston Trust and Investment Management. Walden has been an activist for its clients on social, environmental and corporate governance issues since it was established in 1975.

Leggett, No. 404 on the newest Fortune 500 list, is among the 8 percent of companies on the list that do not include sexual orientation in their hiring and employment nondiscrimination policies.

Missouri is among 30 states with no law that prohibits such discrimination in the public or private workplace. The federal government prohibits such discrimination among federal employees, but there is no federal law that prohibits such discrimination in private employment.

The company’s board also declared a second-quarter dividend of 17 cents, a 6.3 percent increase over the first-quarter dividend of 16 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on July 14 to shareholders of record on June 15.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) was trading down 4 cents at $26.76 on Wednesday afternoon, compared to a 52-week range of $18.19 to $28.60.

Jeff Wells is the editor of Joplin Tri-State Business, the Springfield Business Journal’s sister publication. See the May 22 issue of Joplin Tri-State Business for more on the results of Leggett & Platt’s annual meeting.