Rebecca Solomon, left, Roger Poindexter and Rebecca Covell
Adopting inclusive policies is the trend but LGBT employees must still protect their personal finances
DAVID TAFFET | Staff Writer
taffet@dallasvoice.com
Out & Equal DFW and Resource Center Dallas presented a forum on May 24 on the economics of equality.
Panelists included Rebecca Solomon of Bank of America, Roger Poindexter of Lambda Legal and attorney Rebecca Covell. RCD President and CEO Cece Cox moderated.
Solomon had advice for coming out at work.
“The trend of business is adopting more inclusive policies,” she said, offering suggestions on how to decide how safe it was to come out at a particular company.
“Look at the policies,” Solomon said. “Take a pulse of the workplace and speak to others.”
She said that just because policies are in place, look at how they are translated into practice. Is there diversity training for management? Do policies have any teeth?
As an example, Solomon said that at Bank of America, someone who made the workplace uncomfortable for an LGBT employee because of that person’s sexual orientation or gender identity would be escorted out the door that day.
Covell said that a company’s affinity groups are an indication of its commitment to diversity.
Poindexter addressed the issue of coming out as HIV at work.
“Unless you need accommodation, there’s no need to disclose,” he said.
Covell suggested that it was never too early for a same-sex couple to begin estate planning. Since Texas offers no protections or benefits for domestic partners that married opposite sex couples receive, she suggested reviewing all documents with an attorney. Covell said that beneficiaries should be designated for all policies because Texas courts would assign those assets to relatives.
Solomon suggested that a trust is a way for someone to designate assets when an employee is afraid to name a same-sex partner at work.
Out & Equal will host a national convention at the Anatole Hotel, Oct. 25–28. Register at OutAndEqual.org.
