JP MORGAN CHASE & CO. | Report on respecting workforce civil liberties at JP MORGAN CHASE & CO

Status
Withdrawn
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
11
Resolution details
Company ticker
JPM
Lead filer
Individual
Resolution ask
Conduct due diligence, audit or risk/impact assessment
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Decent work
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
"RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board of Directors
conduct an evaluation and issue a civil rights and
non-discrimination report within the next year, at reasonable
cost and excluding proprietary information and disclosure of
anything that would constitute an admission of pending
litigation, evaluating how Chase’s policies and practices
impact employees and prospective employees based on their
religion (including religious views) or political views, and the
risks those impacts present to Chase’s business."
Supporting statement
"SUPPORTING STATEMENT: JPMorgan Chase is one of the
largest companies in the United States and employs over
240,000 people. As a major employer, Chase should respect
the free speech and religious freedom of its employees. Chase
is legally required to comply with many laws prohibiting
discrimination against employees on a variety of factors,
including religion and sometimes political affiliation.
Respecting diverse views also allows Chase to attract the
most qualified talent, promote a healthy and innovative
business culture, serve its diverse customer base, and
contribute to a healthy economic market and marketplace
of ideas.
Despite this, the 2023 Viewpoint Diversity Index,1
in which
Chase scored a mere 9%, notes that the Company does not
provide its employees with protection against viewpoint
discrimination. While the Company expressly condemns and
prohibits discrimination based on a variety of characteristics,
including race, religious beliefs, gender, and others, it
maintains no such protection against employees of diverse
political beliefs.
Many companies also alienate their own employees by taking
divisive stances on political issues. For example, many
companies have adopted radical stances and policies on
abortion, Chase included. The Company funds abortion
provider Planned Parenthood and has pledged coverage for
“medically necessary transition-related care” for its
employees and their children. The 2023 Index also found that
78% of scored companies discriminate against religious
nonprofits in their charitable giving and 63% give money to
legislation that undermines fundamental First Amendment
freedoms. According to the Freedom at Work survey, 60% of
employees were concerned that their company would punish
them for expressing their religious or political views at work,
and 54% said they feared the same for sharing these views
even on their private social media accounts.2
These concerns
become relevant in the case of Chase. As per the 1792
Exchange’s 2023 report,3
Chase has been accused of
terminating the accounts of politically4
conservative5
customers6
without disclosing the rationale for such
debanking.
Companies may also face additional legal liability for DE&I
programs that make distinctions based on race or that
discriminate based on religious practices, per the recent
Supreme Court decisions in Students for Fair Admission v.
Harvard and Groff v DeJoy. In light of these risks, the Company
must take immediate steps to assess potential shortcomings
and act to remedy these concerns.

Filed by Bowyer Research"

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