Thriving Employees
ASB matches its excellent customer experience with an employee experience that has garnered dozens of local and national awards over the years. Our 1,100 teammates are unified by a common vision to help make dreams possible. As bankers, we often double as coaches, cheerleaders, money gurus and even fairy godparents for our customers. For us, there’s no greater privilege than guiding customers through their most important life decisions, from sending their kids to college, starting a business, buying their first home or saving for a comfortable retirement.
“Unstuffy,” “rewarding,” “open” and “supportive” are just some of the words our teammates use to describe our award-winning workplace culture. We pride ourselves on being creative problem solvers and eager collaborators who find satisfaction in making banking easy for customers, driving innovation within our industry and challenging the status quo.
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Award-Winning Culture and Workplace
Our teammates are committed to making our customers’ dreams possible and we’re committed to doing the same for them. In addition to offering some of the best health and wellness benefits in our state, ASB provides numerous career advancement opportunities and tons of cool perks to support our valued teammates and their loved ones. Below are just some of the award-winning benefits our teammates rave about:
- Weekly paydays
- Casual dress code
- Generous Paid Time Off (PTO)
- 401(k) match
- Birthday and Wellness PTO
- Tuition loan repayment reimbursement contributions
- Pet insurance
The hype is real!
ASB has garnered numerous local and national awards for creating an excellent teammate culture. In 2023, we were named one of the Best Places to Work in Hawaii by Hawaii Business Magazine for the 14th year in a row and recognized by Great Place to Work®, a global authority on workplace culture, employee experience and leadership. The best thing about our award-winning culture is that our teammates own and drive it.
Check out what teammates said about working at ASB in the 2022 Great Place to Work survey
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86% of teammates say ASB is a great place to work (compared to a benchmark of
57% at a typical U.S.-based company)
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96% of teammates feel that they are treated fairly, regardless of their sexual orientation
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92% of teammates feel good about the ways ASB contributes to the community
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The best thing about our award-winning culture is that our teammates own and drive it.
Transparency and Communication are Key to Our Success
Our teammates say that one of the best things about working at ASB is our open and transparent communication. We expect and encourage everyone, from our leaders to new hires, to provide feedback, ask questions and take an active role in making us the best company possible.
Ensuring our team members understand our vision and how their individual efforts contribute to our overall company goals are crucial to our success. We communicate frequently and hold people accountable for knowing our priorities and how we are performing throughout the year to ensure everyone is aligned.
We rely on a number of methods to keep the lines of communication open, including regular emails to teammates and managers, articles on our ASB intranet, digital signs throughout our Campus to share important updates and our Management Committee’s open door policy. Every quarter, our leadership team hosts a series of “Talk Story” sessions (town hall-style meetings) to share ASB’s financial performance, review operational and business updates, revisit priorities, discuss any challenges and celebrate accomplishments. Not only do these forums ensure that teammates are aligned, but they also give leaders the opportunity to share the rationale behind certain decisions so teammates understand the big picture and can ask questions.
Additionally, our Consumer Banking leadership teams meet three times a year to discuss goals, priorities and challenges. These touchpoints provide important opportunities for managers to stay in the loop about upcoming programs and initiatives, network with others, participate in training and get the support they need to lead our branch teammates.
We also share information through Virtual Update videos on our intranet that are accessible to everyone. Teammates can watch these brief updates when it’s convenient and learn about new initiatives, products and services, campaigns or other key updates.
Fostering a Culture of Feedback and Speaking Up
As part of our core expectations, all teammates are encouraged to ask questions, challenge status quo and speak up when things are going well and especially when things don’t seem right. This culture of open and honest communication allows us to build trusting relationships and brings about the best ideas, collaboration and results. Being able to have candid discussions and share freely about how to tackle challenges together in the most productive way has contributed to our high performance, productivity and teammate engagement.
With varying communication styles, personalities and comfort levels, we offer a variety of ways for teammates to speak up, whether it’s through email, one-on-one discussions with their manager or by posting a suggestion on our Idea Bank, a digital discussion board on our company intranet. We value all feedback and appreciate it when our teammates care enough to inform us of our potential blind spots and contribute ideas on how we can improve our customer and teammate experience.
Throughout the year, ASB participates in a handful of employee engagement surveys as one way to collect feedback from our teammates on what we’re doing well and how we can improve their experience. Some of these programs result in local and national awards, which we are always proud to receive since they are driven by teammate feedback. We invite feedback from all teammates twice a year through our Your Voice Matters Survey, to gain deeper insight on topics that contribute to engagement including clarity of direction, professional development, career opportunities, personal well-being, and sense of belonging. Responses provide a road map for areas to focus and enhance our teammate experience.
Once our Human Resources and Organizational Development teams comb through results, they meet individually with team managers to discuss their results. To ensure everyone actively participates in making ASB a great place to work, managers host team meetings to share results and discuss ways to improve. These goals are entered into our survey action planning system and revisited throughout the year to keep engagement top of mind. As part of our annual Team Review process, managers provide updates and progress on their engagement plan.
Collaboration is Core to Who We Are and What We Do
Developing teams that effectively work and communicate with one another allows us to better serve our customers, work more efficiently and maintain our great place to work culture. At ASB, we use DiSC, a tool that identifies team members’ communication and work styles, as a way to learn how we can best work together. DiSC not only improves productivity, it fosters understanding of different personalities and styles to enhance collaboration and engagement.
The ultimate opportunity to collaborate came in 2019, when nearly 650 teammates from five separate locations across Oahu moved into our new 11-story, 373,000-square-foot ASB Campus in downtown Honolulu. The ASB Campus is the single biggest investment ASB has ever made in its teammates, customers and community. Designed to promote a culture of openness and efficiency, our Campus puts collaboration at the forefront and is incorporated into every design element of the building.
In an effort to break down silos and physical barriers between teams, it was important to create an open-floor layout that encourages face-to-face collaboration. This way, managers are no longer separated into corner offices; every teammate from interns to directors sit together in pods organized by workflow.
Instead of scheduling one-hour meetings, teammates can now simply turn their chairs around or walk a few steps to quickly brainstorm an idea, discuss a project and make quick decisions to benefit customers. Not only does our collaborative workplace allow for greater efficiency, bit it also allows for teammates to enjoy the opportunity to put faces to names, build stronger relationships and get stuff done faster. Everyone is accessible and we’re able to collect diverse ideas and perspectives, which lead to the best outcomes.
In addition to being able to work better together, the Campus also offers numerous spaces for team building, camaraderie and fun. Teammates can take advantage of two open-air lanai, a large breakroom for meals, snacks, meetings or socializing and lots of meeting spaces spread throughout the building to share ideas.
Co-creating Our New Better Together Normal Work Experience
Throughout the pandemic, we provided flexibility and support for teammates to help navigate unprecedented waters. With many teammates working remotely, we regularly solicited feedback through formal and informal channels including pulse surveys, talk story sessions, Campus chat tools, team huddles, and manager check-ins. This feedback gave a sense of how teammates were doing through modified work arrangements and guided decisions on future safety protocols, benefits and programs to support challenges they were experiencing.
Teammates reported that they felt heard, cared for and proud to work for a company focused on their best interests both at and outside of work. As our state began transitioning from pandemic to endemic and many companies sent out an “all clear” for employees to return to the office, ASB gathered input from teammates to co-create and test possible future options - with a goal to balance collaboration and flexibility - together.
We are proud to offer a state-of-the-art workspace for relationship building, collaboration, and learning at our Campus. We also know teammates appreciate and value flexibility to handle personal priorities away from work. So, our test phase sought to experiment options that blend the best of both worlds: cultivate our culture of deep relationships, quick solutions and on-site collaboration while respecting teammates’ desire for flexibility to handle personal needs as they arise. Through open discussions and test-driving a variety of options, teammates and leaders shared potential concerns and productive solutions for our future.
Rather than a one-size-fits all solution, we have continued to collaborate with leaders and teammates to capture the benefits of flexibility while leveraging our unique Campus space to deliver high-performance. This partnership in how we work exemplifies a tenet of our #bettertogether culture. We will continue to focus on providing a great employee experience, including the flexibility teammates value, without losing the in-person collaboration that is key to our success.
Training and Development
As part of our core expectations, every teammate is responsible for taking ownership of their own selfdevelopment and we’re committed to supporting them every step of the way. Our professional development courses are designed to help teammates grow and build new skills, meet new people, explore other interests and thrive in their career.
We equip our bankers with the tools and training they need to make our customer’s dreams possible including, technical banker training programs that cover all aspects of banking laws, banking operations, new product and service offerings, legal and regulatory compliance, procedures and ethics. In addition to technical training courses, we offer a range of behavioral-based courses that focus on effective communication and relationship building. These are especially targeted toward our frontline teammates to equip them with skills to support and provide personalized solutions for customers. We also offer ongoing specialized courses for teammates in specific job functions to ensure they are kept abreast of all the current laws, regulations and industry trends.
Additionally, all ASB teammates receive complimentary access to LinkedIn Learning courses, which offer thousands of online courses designed to enhance both professional and personal skills. Depending on teammates’ goals and interests, they can access custom playlists filled with recommended courses. Many of the trainings are offered in bite-sized sections, so teammates can decide how deep they want to dive in or can easily start and resume lessons at their convenience.
We also offer free financial education classes to all teammates so they can enhance their knowledge and improve their financial future. This, in turn, empowers them to provide sound financial guidance to our customers.
The possibilities are endless for motivated individuals who are eager to work hard, learn new skills and grow with us. We are proud of our culture of internal promotion and offer stretch projects to explore different career paths and develop new skills. At ASB, just because someone starts in one job, it doesn’t mean that’s where they'll stay. Managers work on career plans with teammates to identify possible career paths that may be of interest. Teammates have the opportunity to test-drive opportunities in other departments and often transfer to new positions if they feel it’s a better fit.
Helping Teammates Reach Their Full Potential
We’re so committed to growing and supporting our teammates that we devoted an entire floor at our ASB Campus for training. We offer numerous professional and leadership development classes throughout the year, such as Feedback Jiu-Jitsu, Embracing Change and Thinking with Heart. These interactive classes are led by knowledgeable and skilled facilitators and are offered in-person and virtually to make them accessible to all teammates.
There are also plenty of opportunities for managers to continue developing their leadership skills. We offer training on driving change within their teams and across the bank, increasing teammate engagement, managing performance and other leadership topics. Below are just a handful of examples:
We provide a range of soft skills training, including emotional intelligence, change resilience, giving feedback, diversity and inclusion and respect in the workplace.
To be a leader at ASB, teammates must complete our Leading the ASB Way course, which covers expectations for all managers and an annual leadership certification refresher course. We also provide monthly leadership training sessions open to all managers to help them sharpen their skills and lead their teams.
We host quarterly Leader Round-Up sessions with team leaders to share key financial and business updates, engage them in strategic planning, request feedback and encourage relationship building and networking.
We further invest in leadership development through leadership cohort programs designed to help teammates grow professionally and personally, enhance their leadership skills and broaden their understanding of the banking industry.
Professional Development Programs
- Leadership Academy
- Rise
- Aspire
- Ignite
- Pacific Coast Banking School
Leadership Academy
In 2015, we launched our ASB Leadership Academy, a year-long program designed to give high-performing, high-potential team members a deeper understanding of leadership, professional skills and banking. In 2023, we’re kicking off our eighth Leadership Academy cohort. This group of ASB leaders meets once a month to experience engaging coursework, team-building exercises, interactive executive sessions and group/individual assignments. Many of the program graduates have gone on to assume greater responsibilities and leadership opportunities. In fact, two participants from our third cohort – Ann Teranishi and Dane Teruya – were even promoted to become our President and CEO and Chief Financial Officer, respectively.
Rise
As part of our continued efforts to develop leaders and high performers, in 2020, ASB launched RISE, an intensive six-month program designed to help managers flourish in their roles. These teammates engage in learning through in-person sessions, mentor circles and a 360-degree feedback process, which helps prepare them for greater leadership roles.
Aspire
In 2022, ASB launched ASPIRE, a six-week leadership program designed for teammates who are eager for growth and career development and want to build leadership skills, while influencing others in a positive way.
Ignite
For teammates looking to “spark” their careers, we created an eight-week IGNITE program, which allows participants to learn about self-leadership, accountability, values and build confidence and credibility to create their own leadership pathway.
Pacific Coast Banking School
Each year, ASB selects teammates to attend the Pacific Coast Banking School, a three-year program that includes two-week resident sessions at the University of Washington’s Graduate School of Business and two years of written extension assignments. The curriculum is designed to provide graduate-level executive leadership, financial management education and valuable strategies to help tackle important banking issues.
Many of the teammates selected are graduates of ASB’s Leadership Academy program. This continued investment in their development prepares ASB leaders to take on expanded responsibilities to help advance their careers and our organization.
Hiring and Recruiting
We pride ourselves on hiring talented individuals who share in our commitment to take care of our customers, community and each other. Through our partnerships with Hawaii high schools, colleges, professional networks and community organizations, we have recruited hundreds of new teammates from the communities we serve.
Forbes 2022 The Best Employers For Veterans
With the Covid-19 pandemic resulting in the loss of employment for many in our community, it is important to us to support the return of local jobseekers to the workforce. We partner with Hawaii is Hiring, a one-stop resource from the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii that connects Hawaii residents to job opportunities, training programs and career navigation. We’ve also worked with the Economic Development Alliance of Hawaii to support the Aloha Connects Innovation program, which provides unemployed workers with new job opportunities to help set a course for a more sustainable, resilient Hawaii. Not only has this program helped many of our state’s displaced workers, it has also helped to diversify and strengthen our economy.
We are deeply committed and invested in creating learning and mentorship opportunities for our future leaders. We’ve partnered with the Aloha Connects Innovation Program and Chamber of Commerce Kamaaina Connect Program to host several events at our ASB Campus encouraging young professionals to connect with top-level executives in Hawaii for career advice and networking.
In June, ASB hosts a robust 10-week summer internship program that attracts college students from near and far. Throughout the program, participants receive mentoring from some of Hawaii’s best bankers and are immersed in meaningful projects. Interns not only deepen their understanding of the banking industry, they also learn valuable professional and leadership skills that will help prepare them for lucrative careers no matter what path they pursue.
Building a Talent Pipeline
Over the years, some of ASB’s best and brightest new hires have been selected from our summer internship program. For these new hires, it’s an opportunity to return home after graduating from college, receive on-the-job-training from experienced bankers and tell their friends they work for one of the coolest companies in Hawaii.
ASB offers interns professional development opportunities through leadership programs, volunteer days and hands-on experience with some of Hawaii’s top companies and executives.
After a successful 10-week summer internship program, Saito was offered a permanent position on ASB’s Commercial Credit team.
“I knew I wanted to intern at ASB the second I met my mentor, (ASB President and CEO) Ann Teranishi, at the University of HawaiÊ»i’s Shidler Business Night. During the event, Ann told me to always focus on the wellness of the people around me and to always be respectful and caring of others. She invited me to stay in touch and always made me feel welcome at ASB – a true testament to the organization’s culture.”
Miyu Saito, a standout 2022 ASB Summer Intern
Compensation, Benefits and Wellness
ASB’s amazing healthcare coverage and benefits are just a few of the reasons our teammates have voted us a Best Place to Work for 14 years in a row! When teammates work as hard as they do, it’s essential to take time off to rest, recuperate and enjoy free time with your loved ones and our robust Paid-Time Off program allows just that.
We offer a generous Paid Parental Leave of 16 weeks for teammates who are growing their family through the birth, adoption or foster of a child. Teammates may also be approved to return to work, following their 16 weeks, at a reduced schedule with full pay for up to an additional four weeks.
To show teammates how much we value them and care about their well-being, we offer a Birthday PTO day so they can celebrate their special day and a Wellness PTO day as a reward for completing a preventative care screening, such as a physical exam, teeth cleaning or eye exam. We also offer coverage for alternative care, such as acupuncture, chiropractic and massage therapy.
Our other popular benefits include a casual dress code, weekly paydays and pet insurance for our ASB four-legged family members.
Every year, our Human Resources team reviews our benefits to ensure we are offering teammates the best possible options to meet their needs. To ensure teammates are fairly compensated, we also annually review wages and conduct market comparisons to ensure our compensation is in line with – if not better than – what other employers in the financial services industry are offering.
In 2023, we are excited to launch several new benefits that reflect our investment in our amazing team:
401k Match
Student Loan Repayment
LifeBalance Program
Our teammates’ health and well-being are our top priority and we have the benefits and perks to prove it! Our award-winning LifeBalance program offers activities and fun bank-wide step and weight loss challenges to help team members reach their healthy goals. We offer free weekly outdoor fitness classes to teammates and the community, led by a professional instructor, and a weekly e-newsletter containing healthy tips and resources on topics from financial wellness to nutrition.
Teammates are also welcome to enjoy our ASB Campus Fitness Center, which is open from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, plus weekend hours. For those who need a midday mental break, our Malama Relaxation Rooms are a cozy spot to relax, meditate or take a quick power nap.
Appreciation is Part of our DNA
Our teammates are the true champions of our company and we put tremendous energy into making them feel recognized and celebrated for their many contributions all year long. For example, teammates can post a public shout-out to one another using our Mahalo Message bulletin board on our company intranet and then send the recipient a link to the message. We also provide a variety of e-card options that teammates can send to one another to express their appreciation or to give someone a pat on the back at the completion of a major project.
We also spotlight individuals and teams bank-wide who are going above and beyond to live our ASB culture and core expectations. Our ASB Dream Makers profile features a team member who is doing an exceptional job of making our customers’ dreams possible. We also highlight individuals around our company who are making a positive impact in a video series called “My ASB Dream Team Journey.” We enjoy giving high performers the spotlight and using their success stories to inspire others to follow in their footsteps.
Across ASB, we host monthly birthday and anniversary celebrations with soft serve (we even have our own machine!) and other popular snacks and treats. Every month, we post fun birthday and anniversary announcements on our digital signs and intranet. We send reminder emails to the managers of birthday and anniversary celebrants so they can also help recognize their team members with personalized e-cards or in-person team gatherings.
Teammates also receive Makana (“gift”) points on their ASB work anniversary. These points can be redeemed online for prizes and gift cards.
For an entire month each year, we go full-court press to thank our team for their hard work and accomplishments. Teammate Appreciation Month is a big deal and we celebrate with snacks, ASB logo item giveaways and fun team-building activities. From “Caption This” photo contests to trendy social media challenges and dress-up spirit days, we pull out all the stops to build camaraderie and appreciate our amazing crew.
The highlight of Teammate Appreciation Month is our annual Mahalo Party – a bank-wide celebration for all 1,100 teammates that we host in Aala Park. We provide air and ground transportation for all our teammates living on the neighbor islands so that everyone can come together and celebrate.
In 2022, teammates were ecstatic to once again be able to celebrate together in-person after a two-year hiatus due to pandemic restrictions. We transformed Aala Park, which we refer to as our ASB Campus “front yard,” with a variety of food booths from our ASB customers and other neighborhood eateries, oversized lawn games, live entertainment, prizes and plenty of opportunities to connect with other teammates across the bank.
Later that year in November, we brought teammates together once again to express our gratitude for their hard work by hosting our first-ever ASB Pumpkin Pie Drive-By. Members of our leadership team got dressed up in fun turkey and pie hats and helped distribute nearly 700 pies and sweet treats from popular local bakeries on five islands for teammates to enjoy with their family on Thanksgiving. Twenty randomly chosen teammates also won a “Lucky Pie,” a special dessert that came with a bonus $200 gift card to help brighten their holidays. Leftover pies were donated to Family Life Center on Maui and Aloha Harvest on Oahu.
Diversity and Inclusion
American Savings Bank is committed to creating a diverse, respectful and inclusive company for all teammates, customers and community members. We welcome and celebrate diversity in ideas, experiences, race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation and veteran status and do not tolerate racism, discrimination or harassment of any kind. We truly believe this diversity provides a wealth of experiences and perspectives that inform our decision making, leads to the best results, is key in maintaining our great place to work culture and allows us to better connect with our diverse customers.
We are proud of both our racial and gender diversity.
Racial Diversity - All Workforce
All statistics are in percentages
Data as of 12/31/22
Racial Composition of Hawaii
All statistics are in percentages
Diverse Representation
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Female Executives
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Female Leaders
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Female in All Workforce
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Racially Diverse Executives
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Racially Diverse in All Workforce
ASB has IDEAS
When it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion, ASB is committed to doing our part to drive positive change within our company and community. Our ASB has IDEAS (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equity, Allyship and Safety) Council is a committee of teammate volunteers who are committed to protecting and promoting our great place to work culture and ensuring everyone feels valued for their talents, feels a sense of belonging and knows that their voice matters.
The council, which is open to all teammates, meets regularly to discuss new ideas, organize various celebrations and educational opportunities and identify ways to ensure ASB remains a diverse, inclusive and respectful workplace.
In 2022, the ASB has IDEAS Council broadened awareness for Black History Month by creating an activity card that encouraged teammates to learn about the significance of the annual celebration and support black-owned businesses. For May Day, teammates from across ASB sewed more than 375 feet of lei, which was donated to a nearby senior center. The next month, at the IDEAS Council’s recommendation, we decided to observe the Juneteenth holiday, even before it became an official federal holiday. Volunteers also hosted a workshop to help teammates learn how to better cope with and support loved ones dealing with challenges in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month. Then in December, the Council helped teammates learn about other types of cultural and religious holidays such as Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Winter Solstice.
Last October, we once again demonstrated our support for the LGBTQIA+ community as a Visionary Sponsor for the Honolulu Pride Festival and Parade. We rainbow-ed out our 11-story ASB Campus with colorful exterior building lights and decorated the front lawn with oversized illuminated “Aloha Wins” marquee letters flanked by hundreds of rainbow pinwheels.
Our ASB has IDEAS Council rallied more than 100 teammates to participate in the Honolulu Pride Parade by riding in our ASB Pride trolley and walking through Waikiki while handing out cool logo items. Thousands of community members stopped by our Pride Festival booth and were greeted by members of IDEAS Council (wearing rainbow tutus, of course!) to learn more about our open, diverse and inclusive company culture.
“Creating a workplace culture that is truly founded on diversity and inclusion involves looking at data, tracking it to see how you’re using it to make better decisions, changing your practices and behaviors, and creating a safe space for open, honest dialogue. I’m proud to work for a company where nearly 65% of our teammates are women, 40% of our executives are female and 20% of executives identify as LGBTQIA+.”
Beth Whitehead, EVP and Chief Administrative Officer
To have a truly inclusive culture, it takes everyone doing their part and holding each other accountable. Every member of our team completes a Respect in the Workplace training and 90-minute interactive session on “Finding the ‘I’ in Diversity & Inclusion,” which encourages teammates to explore topics related to bias and non-inclusive behaviors.
We want people from all walks of life to feel welcome and we believe the world is a better place when people live authentically and share their unique experiences, backgrounds and journeys.
In 2022, ASB received Pacific Business News’ Business of Pride award, which celebrates individuals and companies in Hawaii that have contributed and supported diversity, inclusion and equity efforts in meaningful ways.
Women’s Network
Since 2015, our ASB Women’s Network has been bringing together female teammates from across the company to discuss issues unique to women in the workplace. Participants help select topics of interest and meet quarterly to hear from guest speakers, develop new skills and build their network. Attendees say they enjoy the candid conversations, camaraderie and support from other women leaders, including our female Management Committee members who often facilitate discussions and share personal stories of their career progression.
Over the years, the Women’s Network has also rallied to support important women’s causes in our community, such as YWCA’s Dress for Success program, Habitat for Humanity’s Wahine Build, the “Me Too” movement, and was one of the founding sponsor organizations of the Safe Spaces and Workplaces initiative.
Our Commitment to Human Rights
- Preventing Discrimination and Harassment
- Protecting Our Teammates Against Domestic Violence
- Stopping Child Labor