Leggett shareholder seeks specific gay, lesbian protection

Boston-based Walden Asset Management, a Leggett shareholder for 15 years with 260,200 shares, has asked the company to add discrimination protection for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers because Walden and its clients consider not having it to be a “long-term business concern,” said Walden research associate Meredith Benton.

“Leggett & Platt is very much behind the curve of the way corporate America is going,” Benton said via telephone from her East Coast office. “The concern is that if they don’t have procedures and policies in place that are comprehensive and cohesive, then they are increasing their liabilities.”

But members of Leggett’s board of directors disagree, and in the company’s March proxy statement, they recommended that shareholders vote against the policy change when it comes before them at the May 10 annual meeting.

“We believe this proposal is unnecessary because, in our policies and practice, Leggett is already an equal opportunity employer with a firm and long-standing commitment to preventing discrimination in the workplace,” the proxy statement said.

Susan McCoy, spokesperson for the furniture manufacturer, said Leggett could not comment outside of statements made in the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, made March 31.

How Leggett stacks up

Among its Fortune 500 peers, No. 404 Leggett is in the minority.

More than 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies explicitly bar discrimination based on sexual orientation, including 98 of the Fortune 100, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a civil rights group for gays, lesbians and bisexuals.

Sharron Blalock, outreach-training manager for the St. Louis district of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said that while more and more corporations have considered adding sexual orientation to their nondiscrimination policies, many are waiting until federal law requires it. The decision to do so is made on a case-by-case basis.

“If a corporation is doing business in states which have sexual orientation as part of the anti-discrimination laws, then they are apt, probably, to have it,” she said. “Companies are trying to be a little proactive and deal with it before it becomes a major problem for them.”

Missouri does not include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination law, but the General Assembly has been discussing the matter for more than a decade, Blalock said.

Federal law requires that employers list race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, religion and veteran status as protected categories in their nondiscrimination policies.

About two-thirds of Leggett’s 33,000 employees work in the United States.

Missouri companies that have added sexual orientation include Anheuser-Busch, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Hallmark Cards. Other manufacturing companies include General Electric, General Motors and Herman Miller.

Open door

While Leggett officials fear adding sexual orientation would open the door to adding more nondiscrimination categories other than those required by law, Walden’s Benton said sexual orientation stands more important than other outside categories.

“It’s a well-established class against which there is pervasive discrimination,” she said. “There are no hate crime statistics on left-handed people, (but) you hear about that with sexual orientation.”

Leggett says it is not aware of any charge of discrimination based on sexual orientation filed at the company, “nor has the company received notice from any employee, customer or supplier that its employment policies or practices jeopardize its relationship with them,” according to the proxy statement.

Leggett also argues that adding sexual orientation could increase company costs, as it may “encourage frivolous lawsuits” and lead to employees asking for domestic partner benefits.

Benton said Walden has not made any effort to push for partner benefits.

If the resolution is rejected at the meeting, a 10 percent approval would allow Walden to refile its resolution next year. Benton said there are plans to do so.

Leggett & Platt (NYSE: LEG) has about 182.4 million outstanding shares, which closed April 12 at $24 each, compared to a 52-week range of $18.19 to $29.33.