The Richmond, Va.-based company CarMax received a 100-percent rating on the HRC's Corporate Equality Index in both the 2009 and 2010 reports.
RICHMOND, Va. – CarMax, Inc., the nation's largest retailer of used cars, has achieved a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's annual Corporate Equality Index for 2010. The CEI measures workplace equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. As part of this recognition, CarMax is also listed as an HRC "Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality" and in their annual "Buying for Equality" resource guide.
This is the second year in a row that the Fortune 500 company has been honored with a top score on the index.
"We are once again proud to be recognized on the Corporate Equality Index for our commitment to equality," said Tom Folliard, president and chief executive officer of CarMax.
"We hire associates with diverse and unique backgrounds and understand the competitive advantage they bring to our organization."
The HRC was founded in 1980 and is the largest civil rights organization working to achieve equality for LGBT communities. The Corporate Equality Index was first reported in 2002 and rates companies on a scale from zero to 100 percent. The scoring is calculated by a point system which rates criteria such as diversity training, domestic partner benefits and other nondiscrimination policies as well as respectful advertising toward the LGBT community.
In the 2010 index, an unprecendented 305 top U.S. businesses earned the coveted 100-percent rating, up from 260 in the 2009 report. They included such major companies as Bank of America, Barnes & Noble and Esurance.
CarMax, one of the Fortune 2009 "100 Best Companies to Work For," is the nation's largest retailer of used cars. Headquartered in Richmond, Va., they currently operate 100 used car superstores in 46 markets. During the twelve months ended Feb. 28, 2009, the company retailed 345,465 used vehicles and sold 194,081 wholesale vehicles at in-store auctions.
CarMax has a non-discrimination policy in place for recruiting, hiring, training and promoting associates that includes sexual orientation and gender identity. In 2005, CarMax began offering health insurance coverage for domestic partners. CarMax associates are provided training that emphasizes the importance of diversity and its impact on a successful business. This training covers the topic of sexual orientation and all associates are required to complete the training at the start of employment.
For more information on CarMax, visit http://www.carmax.com.
To access the entire 2010 Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, download it at http://www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/cei.htm.
