These NJ Companies Earned a Perfect Score for LGBTQ Equality

Nineteen of New Jersey's leading companies and law firms earn a perfect score for their efforts to meet the evolving needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer workers, according to an annual index released by the Human Rights Campaign.

The 40 New Jersey-based businesses analyzed by the 2018 Corporate Equality Index earned an average score of 83%. More than 30 of these businesses earned 80 points or above.

"This year we actually had the most rigorous criteria in order to get a perfect score on the CEI," said Elliott Kozuch, HRC deputy press secretary.

The CEI rated — officially or unofficially, based on available data — more than 1,000 companies nationally; 571 were able to achieve the top score of 100 percent, earning the title as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

Generally, the report rates entities on Fortune magazine's list of the 1,000 largest publicly-traded businesses, or American Lawyer magazine's top 200 revenue grossing law firms.

Standards added for this year's report include the requirement that blanket exclusions of medically necessary care for transgender workers be removed from all healthcare policies; the requirement that companies maintain domestic partner benefits for both same- and different-sex couples; and the requirement that a company's supplier diversity program explicitly include LGBTQ-owned suppliers.

These New Jersey companies earned a perfect score:

• Subaru of America Inc., Cherry Hill
• Prudential Financial Inc., Newark
• BASF Corp., Florham Park
• ADP, RoselanD
• The Dun & Bradstreet Corp., Short Hills
• Campbell Soup Co., Camden
• Quest Diagnostics Inc., Lyndhurst
• Becton, Dickinson and Co., Franklin Lakes
• Wyndham Destinations, Parsippany
• Wyndham Hotels & Resorts Inc., Parsippany
• Horizon Healthcare Services Inc., Newark
• Day Pitney LLP, Parsippany
• Bayer U.S. LLC, Whippany
• Celgene Corp., Summit
• Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick
• Merck, Kenilworth
• Sanofi, Bridgewater
• Unilever, Englewood Cliffs
• American Express Global Business Travel, Jersey City

"For more than 10 years, Wyndham has been an employer of choice among the LGBTQ community, and one that encourages team members to bring their whole selves to work," said Patricia Lee, chief social responsibility officer for Wyndham Hotels & Resorts. "Our recognition as a Best Place to Work shows that we continue to do the right thing in ensuring the environment we're cultivating is in the spirit of hospitality."