Full Story: http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi?sfArticleId=988
SocialFunds.com -- The infamous shareowner resolution calling on Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores' parent company CBRL Group to bar sexual orientation discrimination, first filed more than a decade ago, has finally achieved its objective.
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The controversy that prompted this resolution dates back to 1991, when Cracker Barrel's then vice president of human resources issued a memo without senior corporate approval.
"It is inconsistent with our concept and values, and is perceived to be inconsistent with those of our customer base, to continue to employ individuals in our operating units whose sexual preferences fail to demonstrate normal heterosexual values which have been the foundation of families in our society," the memo stated.
Cheryl Summerville was one of at least 11 employees who lost their jobs due to this policy. "This employee is being terminated due to violation of company policy," her pink slip stated. "The employee is gay."
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"This is a milestone," said Shelley Alpern, ... co-chair for shareholder activism at the Equality Project, a group that advocates barring sexual orientation discrimination in corporate EEO policies. "Cracker Barrel, which once was the very face of anti-gay bigotry, has finally acknowledged that its lesbian and gay workers are part of the mainstream of the American workforce."
