Last week we asked you to contact Microsoft Corporation and tell them to reinstate their support for workplace fairness legislation in Washington State. You took action – and today, Microsoft has decided to renew its public support for both federal and Washington State legislation prohibiting workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender expression.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer commented in an email to Microsoft employees “…I’ve concluded that diversity in the workplace is such an important issue for our business that it should be included in our legislative agenda. Since our beginning nearly 30 years ago, Microsoft has had a strong business interest in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest and most diverse workforce possible. I’m proud of Microsoft’s commitment to non-discrimination in our internal policies and benefits, but our policies can’t cover the range of housing, education, financial and similar services that our people and their partners and families need. Therefore, it’s appropriate for the company to support legislation that will promote and protect diversity in the workplace.”

Microsoft has a track record of strong support for fairness in the workplace and recently added gender identity and expression to its own corporate non-discrimination policy. For more on Microsoft and other corporate leaders GLBT policies please see HRC’s Corporate Equality Index at: http://tinyurl.com/6oqvv.

Thank you for your quick action and for making a difference!

Sincerely,

Joe Solmonese
President