Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport Adopts LGBTQ Nondiscrimination Policies

At its regular monthly board meeting on Tuesday, the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport board of directors voted unanimously to include language in their policies and procedures protecting members of the LGBTQ community.

The adopted language was part of the airport's strategy since Director Rob Barnett assumed his position and made it a point to update policies and procedures into a modern context, Barnett said.

The move to adopt the new language in both the equal employment opportunities as well as customer relations sections of their policies and procedures was spearheaded by airport board member Madison Silvert.

"We were actually in the process of revamping our entire policies and procedures manual," Silvert said. "In light of what has been happening in our community, we looked at the protected groups in the Department of Transportation's language and made our changes accordingly, parroting their language."

While following the language of the DOT was important, especially given that it is a major funding source for the airport, the board and Barnett also felt that given the airport's position as a gateway into the community, it needed to be as "welcoming" as possible, Silvert said.

"At the airport at least, we were able to accomplish something that hasn't been accomplished by the community," he said. "For many, the airport is the first interaction that many will have with our community and we want to ensure that it is always welcoming. So, as far as our employee and customer policies, it was an easy amendment to make."

In terms of employee practices, the new language is set to protect anyone regardless of, "race, creed, color, religion, sex (gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status), genetic information, marital status, age (40 and over), national origin, disability (mental or physical), protected veteran status, equal pay/compensation, or any other classification protected by applicable law," as well as protect those individuals, in the event that they feel "harassed" or "discriminated" against, from any retaliation after having reported an incident, according to the policy. The second amendment relates to the airport's customer relations policies and offers the same protections for customers in regards to fair treatment as well as protections from retaliation.

While the inclusion of "fairness" policies are still hotly contested in the political sphere, in the business realm they are becoming the norm with 100% of Kentucky's Fortune 500 companies along with the state's top 25 manufacturing/support service firms adopting such policies, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The move on the part of airport leadership is not only necessary but important for the future of recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff, said Barnett.

"I think it is incredibly important," he said. "Not only do the changes bring us into alignment with those federal standards, but they allow us to make the airport as a whole more inclusive. While we have never had an issue, these changes make our policies more clear and brings more substance to our practices and puts in writing that discrimination of any kind is unacceptable. These policies will not only heighten our customers' experience but will allow us to better recruit and retain a wide array of talent for the various vital positions that will allow our airport to continue to thrive."

Jacob Mulliken, 270-228-2837, [email protected]

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