CEOs Of Whirlpool, Consumers Energy, And More Calling For LGBTQ Inclusion In Civil Rights Law

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Whirlpool CEO Marc Bitzer is among business leaders in Michigan calling for a statewide ballot initiative to add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act. LGBTQ advocates have tried several times in recent years to expand the law to include the protections, but have not been successful. Now, the CEOs of several companies including Whirlpool, DTE Energy, Consumers Energy, Herman Miller, Verizon, and the Sam Bernstein Law Firm are teaming up to call for the initiative if the Legislature fails to take action on its own.

Last year, St. Joseph became the 45th local government in Michigan to adopt its own non-discrimination ordinance that includes the LGBTQ community due to inaction by the state. It’s still legal except in those communities for people to be discriminated against for housing, employment, and more based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.