For the 11th consecutive year, Scarborough-based Hannaford Supermarkets has received a top score of 100% in a nationwide evaluation of employer policies regarding LGBTQ workers. The only other Maine company in the study, Freeport retailer L.L. Bean Inc., didn’t fare as well.
The Human Rights Campaign’s 2020 Corporate Equality Index assessed the policies of 1,059 large businesses to determine their fairness to employees who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer. Nearly 700 of the companies earned the top score, according to the Washington, D.C.-based civil rights group.
Although Hannaford was the only Maine-based business scoring 100%, another company with deep roots in the state, Unum Group (NYSE: UNM), also received the top grade.
L.L. Bean’s score of 50% was up from the one it received in 2019, 40%.
The index, released annually since 2003, rates companies on detailed criteria in four broad categories: non-discrimination policies; employment benefits; support of an LGBTQ-inclusive culture and corporate social responsibility; and responsible citizenship.
Jim Hamilton, a Hannaford vice president and executive sponsor of its Diversity and Inclusion Council, commented: “We are proud to be recognized by HRC for the ways in which we create and promote safe and welcoming environments that support and celebrate our LGBTQ associates and customers. We believe in reflecting the communities we serve, and we’re enriched by each other’s differences.”
Attempts to reach L.L. Bean for comment were not immediately successful.
Hannaford, owned by Dutch supermarket conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, operates over 180 stores in the Northeast, including 63 in Maine, and employs more than 26,000 people.