Progress to eliminate discrimination based on orientation in the workplace suffered a major setback after the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) stalled  in the Senate late last year. And gender identity already had been moved out of the bill to give it a greater chance of approval. However, the New York City LGBT community and the city's comptroller's office are taking matters into their own hands.

Yesterday, New York City Comptroller William Thompson Jr., The LGBT Community Center and the New York City Pension Funds called on more than two dozen of America's largest companies to ban discrimination based on orientation and gender identity. Who is the biggest offender? ExxonMobil, which eliminated domestic-partner benefits for same-sex partners when the two companies merged in 1999.

"We must work together to make sure that corporate America embraces acceptance and affords all employees the same protections, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity," Thompson said at a news conference held at The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in Manhattan.

The resolution, filed on behalf of the New York City Employee's Retirement System, New York City Police Pension Fund, New York City Fire Department Pension Fund, New York City Teacher's Retirement System and the New York City Board of Education Retirement System, demands that orientation and gender identity be protected in the workplace. "Equal treatment in the workplace is a right, not a privilege, and no one should face discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity," said New York City public advocate Betsy Gotbaum.

The new resolution builds on the 10-year effort by the Pension Funds to encourage companies to adopt antidiscrimination policies. According to the Human Rights Campaign, 439 Fortune 500 companies now ban discrimination based on orientation and 152 ban discrimination based on gender identity. The 2007 DiversityInc Top 50 Companies for Diversity^® all ban discrimination based on orientation and 76 percent ban discrimination based on gender identity.

Oil giant ExxonMobil has refused to accept the Pension Funds' request.  

"We must remain steadfast in our efforts to bring about change and urge ExxonMobil to establish equal rights in the workplace," Thompson said. "While it's heartening that a number of shareholders agree that ExxonMobil must take steps to provide equal protections for all employees, it is extremely troubling and downright unacceptable that ExxonMobil has strongly resisted the call."

Currently, the five Pension Funds has more than $110 billion in holdings and 30 million shares valuing nearly $2.2 billion in the companies.