Hopkinton's EMC Settles Transgender Discrimination Claims: AG

HOPKINTON, MA – EMC Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dell Technologies – collectively, Hopkinton-based Dell EMC – will pay $110,000 and update its policies and training programs to settle claims of sex and gender identity-based discrimination against a former employee, Attorney General Maura Healey's office announced on Friday.

According to the AG's office, a transgender woman who formerly worked for EMC claimed she was subjected to a "hostile work environment" based on her sex and gender identity, denied job opportunities and was retaliated against for complaining of discrimination.

EMC will pay $60,000 to the former employee and $25,000 each to two non profit organizations: TransCanWork, which promotes transgender employment in Massachusetts, and Girls, Inc., whose Worcester Eureka! program promotes girls in STEM.

Dell EMC will submit all of its anti-discrimination, diversity and inclusion and gender identity-related policies to the AG's Civil Rights Division for review, and its Massachusetts employees will undergo anti-discrimination training.

"Transgender people continue to face significant and unique barriers in finding and maintaining employment," Healey said in a statement. "This case is a reminder that all employers, even those who are leaders in matters of diversity and inclusion, must be proactive about identifying and eliminating discrimination. We appreciate Dell EMC’s efforts to successfully resolve this issue."

The AG's office said Dell EMC cooperated fully with the investigation. Both EMC and Dell Technologies have affirmed their commitment to ensuring inclusive and discrimination-free workplaces, and Dell has consistently received a 100 percent score from the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index in recent years. Diversity Inc. also listed it as one of the top companies for LGBT employees, according to the AG's office.

"Transgender people are coming in from the social margins and increasingly coming out of the shadows at work. Employment provides solutions for housing, health issues, pride, acceptance, a sense of community and an overall better quality of life," Jeanie You, vice president of marketing and communications at TransCanWork said in a release. "This case is particularly important as statistics show an ever increasing number of youth—the incoming workforce—identifying as transgender, non-conforming, or non-binary."

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