From the outside, Saks Fifth Avenue and its parent, Hudson’s Bay Co., have appeared to be doing a good job supporting their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender employees. In 2014, Saks scored a 90 out of 100 in the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which gives companies ratings based on how LGBT-friendly their workplaces and employment policies are. The company reported that it has offered a full range of health benefits to same-sex couples since 2001, and it encourages a culture of inclusion for the LGBT community through internal initiatives and partnerships with LGBT rights advocacy groups.
But both that HRC score and much of the positive feeling in the press and public about Saks’ treatment of LGBT employees have disappeared because of a lawsuit by a transgender woman claiming Saks discriminated against her while she was working at one of the company’s stores.
