IP: Home Depot Now Accepts Government Business

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

Title: approve:ggfarber  Home Depot Now Accepts Government Business

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From: TruChaos@aol.com
Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 08:27:07 EDT
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: Home Depot Now Accepts Government Business

Big Orange goes red, white, blue

Home Depot decides to do business with the feds

By PATTI BOND <mailto:pbond@ajc.com>  
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer 

Home Depot has done an about-face on its policy of not doing business with the federal government.

The Atlanta-based home improvement giant announced late Friday that it's now willing to become a federal contractor, paperwork and all. The sudden change of heart comes less than two weeks after Home Depot insisted it couldn't handle federal reporting requirements.

Home Depot whipped up a national stir recently after it sent a memo to 1,300 stores nationwide reminding managers they should not accept purchase orders, credit cards or cash for products being bought for federal government use. Home Depot said the memo was reiterating a long-standing policy, but it kicked off a flurry of unflattering news reports.

By avoiding the federal contractor label, Home Depot doesn't have to file certain affirmative-action reports or disclose details about the hiring or pay of women and minorities. Civil rights groups and affirmative-action proponents criticized the retailer.

Officials at the General Services Administration, which oversees the purchase of most government supplies, also seemed irked. They talked to Home Depot executives following the media reports to find out what the retailer's problem was.

Home Depot apparently caught so much flak that it decided to change the policy. A Home Depot spokesman declined to elaborate on the new policy Friday.

GSA generates about $20 billion in business through 10,000 federal contracts. Spokeswoman Mary Alice Johnson said Friday the agency was glad to hear Home Depot had changed its tune.

"We always want to do business with good companies that want to do business with us," Johnson said.








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