• Home
  • Mail
  • News
  • Finance
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Search
  • Mobile
  • More
Yahoo
    • Skip to Navigation
    • Skip to Main Content
    • Skip to Related Content
    • Mail
    Lifestyle Home
    Follow Us
    • Style
    • Beauty
    • Wellness
    • Shopping
    • MAKERS
    • Holiday Guide for Guys
    • Pets
    • Video
    • Horoscopes
    • Pop Culture
    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    Florida's most beloved supermarket faces allegations of mistreating LGBTQ workers

    Korin Miller
    Writer
    February 6, 2018

    If you’ve ever spent time in Florida, you probably know that people there love Publix. The supermarket chain is hugely popular with residents of the Sunshine State. There’s even fan merchandise available online for die-hards.

    But despite the huge following, Publix has developed a bad reputation in the LGBTQ community after repeatedly facing accusations of discrimination, as the Miami New Times points out in a new article titled, “Hey, Florida, It’s Time to Stop Blindly Adoring Publix.” The New Times lists several reasons why: In 2012, Publix was ordered to pay cake decorator and former employee Richard Glisson $98,000 after he says he was fired for being gay. (Publix maintains it fired Glisson for giving away a red-velvet cake bar, per the Sun Sentinel.)

    Photo: AP Images

    One Publix worker told the New Times that in 2014 he was denied bereavement leave when his partner of 33 years died, while his heterosexual colleagues received the benefit. He also claimed that he was flat-out told he was passed over for a management position twice because of his “lifestyle.”

    The Human Rights Campaign currently rates Publix on its website as a 0 for LGBT friendliness, citing the chain’s lack of a nondiscrimination policy that includes sexual orientation and gender identity, no health insurance offerings to domestic partners, and no bereavement leave for partners, among other things.

    “From our chair looking at the work that we do with corporate America, they are an outlier in the Fortune 500 in terms of their LGBTQ-inclusive workplace policies, practices, and benefits,” Beck Bailey, deputy director for the Human Rights Campaign’s Workplace Equality Project, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. The HRC conducts an annual LGBT workers’ rights survey of major companies in the U.S. to determine the organization’s Corporate Equality Index, and Publix repeatedly doesn’t participate in it, “even though they’re invited every year to do so,” Bailey says. “That makes them an outlier in what today is best and standard practice on workplace inclusion.”

    And workplace inclusion is good for business, Jonathan D. Lovitz, senior vice president of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “Companies like Publix will likely learn the most valuable lesson that most of the Fortune 500 has learned: Diversity and inclusion is the best decision they can make,” he says. “The LGBT community spends $917 billion a year on consumer goods and services, and we make very conscientious decisions on where we spend our money.”

    Worth noting: Just today Publix disclosed that the company will be covering Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a once-daily pill that can help a patient stay HIV-negative, after coming under pressure from HRC and other LGBT-rights groups, as well as some Florida lawmakers (including state Rep. Carlos G. Smith, an Orlando Democrat). However, Bailey says that covering PrEP is an important aspect of inclusive health care coverage but that “it’s not everything.”

    BREAKING: Less than 24 hours after meeting w/me, @Publix has reversed course and is expanding their employee insurance coverage to include the HIV prevention pill, PrEP! Diplomacy LIVES! #Sayfie https://t.co/FHn3yE7HwW

    — Rep. Carlos G Smith (@CarlosGSmith) February 6, 2018

    While it’s possible simply to take your dollars elsewhere, Publix fans who want to stand up for LGBT rights can make change by speaking up publicly. “If everyone who is concerned about how a corporation like Publix is doing business uses their voice on social media, on their websites, and in their local press, that coupled with changing their spending habits will have an immediate effect on how Publix’s bottom line causes an overall shift in corporate operations,” Lovitz says. Bailey cites the company’s recent change on PrEP coverage as proof. “We’ve certainly seen in this recent episode around PrEP that folks speaking up as employees, members of the advocacy community, consumers, and local politicians making it clear that they believe inclusive policies and benefits are important is useful in terms of changing the corporate mindset and being a catalyst for change,” Bailey says.

    Publix did not respond to Yahoo Lifestyle’s request for comment.

    Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

    • The deadly unraveling of train travel in America
    • How to become a morning exerciser in 4 weeks flat
    • 6 important questions to ask yourself before going full-time freelance

    Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.


    Reblog
    Share
    Tweet
    Share

    What to Read Next

    • Expectant mom stunned by what she sees in sonogram: 'It feels like a punch in the chest'

      Yahoo Now
    • Two Women Landed in the ER After Using a Vacuum to End Their Periods, According to a Nurse's Scary Viral Tweet

      Meredith Videos
    • One Million Moms group calls for Hallmark channel boycott after it airs commercial with lesbian kiss

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • A Source Just Revealed How Justin Timberlake's Wife Really Feels About His PDA Scandal

      Country Living
    • Ryan Reynolds Joked That He and Blake Lively Named Their Third Daughter Using Only Silent Letters

      Cosmopolitan
    • Kendall Jenner Wore a Bra as a Shirt and I’m 99% Sure It’s a Thirst Trap for Harry Styles

      Seventeen
    • Walmart is having a massive deal on iPads right now

      In The Know
    • We Almost Missed Kate Middleton’s New Diamond Ring

      PureWow
    • Teen calls cops on teacher who allegedly pulled 'Women for Trump' pin off shirt

      In The Know
    • The Queen Is Having a "Difficult Time Behind the Scenes" Amid Royal Drama

      Cosmopolitan
    • Kaia Gerber went for the scissors again with a much shorter bob cut

      Hello Giggles
    • Lenny Kravitz Couldn't Sleep for More than 2 Hours a Night After Splitting from Lisa Bonet

      InStyle
    • Jordyn Woods Responds to Khloé Kardashian Shade Accusations: "I'm Exhausted"

      Cosmopolitan
    • A $66 Million Gustav Klimt Painting Stolen 23 Years Ago Was Just Discovered—Inside a Wall of the Museum It Was Stolen From

      Robb Report
    • Serena Williams Just Posted a Rare Bikini Photo and She Literally Has Abs of Steel

      Country Living
    • ‘BIG sound,’ bigger discount: These fan-favorite Bluetooth speakers and headphones are almost half off today only

      Yahoo Lifestyle

    Trump has begun 2024 campaign and is eligible to serve third term, senior Republican says

    Michael: UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION, 22nd Amendment: “NO PERSON, shall be elected, to: the office of the PRESIDENT, MORE than TWICE, and NO PERSON, who has HELD the office of PRESIDENT, or ACTED as PRESIDENT, for: MORE than TWO YEARS, of a TERM to which some, other, person, was elected: PRESIDENT, shall be elected, to: the office of the PRESIDENT, MORE, THAN ONCE.”

    Join the Conversation
    1 / 5

    3k

    • This is the age people find the most meaning in their lives, study shows

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Here’s Why Prince Charles Had to Walk Behind Camilla Parker Bowles During the Latest Royal Outing

      PureWow
    • Kendall Jenner's Impression of Kylie Jenner Is Ruthless and Hilarious

      Harper's Bazaar
    • Slip this deal on for size: Ugg and Toms slippers are up to 63 percent off today only!

      Yahoo Lifestyle
    • Tamra Judge, 52, Claps Back at Cast Members Who "Bashed" Her Age with Bikini Photo

      Prevention
    • Lamar Jackson sets record with his arm too, breaking passing TD mark held by Peyton Manning

      Yahoo Sports
    • Instant Pot's latest model is finally on sale, but only for a limited time

      In The Know
    • Kate Middleton Borrowed a Historic Cartier Necklace from the Queen

      Harper's Bazaar
    • Um, Is That a Praying Mantis Egg Sac Hanging Off Your Christmas Tree?

      House Beautiful
    • Major League Baseball Players Can Finally Smoke Weed Without Worrying

      Fatherly
    • We’re Convinced Kendall Jenner Is Carrying a Tiny Louis Vuitton Bag For a Very Specific Reason

      InStyle
    • Brooklyn Could Be Getting Two Massive Waterfront Apartment Towers

      House Beautiful
    • Time for a Deep Dive on Princess Beatrice's Rich Hot Fiancé Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

      Cosmopolitan
    • Kendall Jenner Talks Her Reading Habits, Gift List, and Hustler (the Magazine) Before Calvin Klein's Pajama Party

      W
    • 'Wheel of Fortune's Vanna White Has Never Been Anyone's Sidekick

      Esquire
    • Head-scratching pie recipe sparks massive debate: 'I shudder to think what it tastes like'

      In The Know