LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — After prodding by a Seattle, Washington-based, GLBT organization, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. is now one of nine of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies to extend its nondiscrimination policy to protect the rights of gay and lesbian workers.

Company spokesperson Tom Williams said July 2 that the policy will not affect benefits, which Wal-Mart does not offer to unmarried partners of any orientation. However, Williams said sexual orientation will be added to the company’s existing diversity-awareness training programs for employees.

Williams said the policy extension had been considered for months and is now in effect. It is considered an internal communication and is not being publicly released.

One GLBT group said the policy change cements what it sees as a history of fair treatment at Wal-Mart, but said the policy could go further.

“We look to Wal-Mart to continue this progressive direction by adding gender identity or expression language to their nondiscrimination policy,” said David Tseng, executive director of the Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG).

Williams said the policy makes a statement to Wal-Mart employees.

“Our continued growth requires us to be one of the more desirable employers around, so we’re clearly stating our acceptance for all of our associates,” Williams said. “Otherwise, we could lose many talented employees, and we don’t want that.”

It means nine of the 10 largest Fortune 500 companies now have rules prohibiting discrimination against gay employees, according to the Human Rights Campaign. The one exception is the Exxon Mobil Corp. Exxon Mobile issued a statement July 2 saying it did not plan to add the language and believes its “intentionally broad” policy clearly bars discrimination on any basis, including sexual orientation.

Wal-mart’s change in policy was first reported by The New York Times in July 2 editions after a letter was sent to the Seattle-based GLBT rights group Pride Foundation, stating that Wal-Mart would work to ensure that all of its personnel decisions, including recruitment, hiring, training and promotions, would be protected from discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The foundation prompted the move by threatening to bring a shareholders resolution, board representative Zack Wright told The Associated Press.

“I think they came around and realized this is the right thing to do for all their employees,” Wright said. “A large number of companies have already implemented this policy. It’s not a great controversial step by any means.”

It’s a significant step because of the size of Wal-Mart and the number of stores in rural areas, he said.

“This policy may be the only example of fair treatment for gay and lesbian people that some people ever see,” Wright said.

Wal-Mart’s decision was hailed by gay and lesbian groups as a sign of changing attitudes in corporate America in the treatment of gay employees.

“It’s a tremendous step forward, a real symbol of how far we’ve come in recent years, and especially in the past few days,” said Michael Adams, an attorney and spokesperson for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, alluding to last month’s U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down anti-sodomy laws.

“Wal-Mart is a uniquely important company in this country,” Adams said. “And they’re known as a careful and cautious corporation, which will cause others to take a look at this issue.”

Williams said the policy change “unfolded by itself” after discussions with employees and groups advocating for the inclusion of gays and lesbians in nondiscrimination policies. He said the Supreme Court ruling was not a factor in the decision.

“We want all of our associates to feel they are treated with respect and valued, with no exceptions at all,” Williams said.

But Wal-Mart has always been quick in disciplining workers who have made disparaging comments about gays, said William M. Wagner, 49, of Waldron, Arkansas, who works in one of Wal-Mart’s regional optical labs and has been with the company for eight years.

Wagner and his wife, Carolyn, are members of PFLAG.

“We’ve heard from many people in Arkansas and elsewhere who have been discriminated against in their workplaces (for sexual orientation), but none of them have been from Wal-Mart,” Carolyn Wagner said. Wal-Mart is based in Bentonville, Arkansas.

In the company’s Anchorage, Alaska, store, gay, lesbian and transgender workers have always been treated fairly, said PFLAG member Norm Schlittler, 70, who recently retired after eight years as a greeter.

Wal-Mart is the world’s largest retailer, with over 1.1 million domestic employees.