Home Depot CEO Mulls Loosening Organization’s Celibacy Requirement

ATLANTA—Faced with an ongoing recruitment struggle in a time of historically low unemployment, Home Depot CEO Craig Menear signaled Monday that he will hold discussions over whether to loosen the company’s long-held celibacy requirement for its employees. “Perhaps the time has come to open up our team-member application process to those who are married and have children,” Menear said in a letter to the board of Home Depot, which since going public in 1981 has maintained a strict policy that prohibits employees from marrying or engaging in sexual activity of any kind, including masturbation. “We have long held that total abstinence was necessary for the vocation of retail associate, the duties of which require both moral purity and complete devotion to the home-improvement needs of local shoppers. But perhaps it is time to consider new paths to dependable customer service, particularly in stores that have been without a lawn and garden expert, flooring professional, or paint-mixing specialist for years.” The CEO also stressed that the proposal would apply only to new hires, and that all of Home Depot’s current employees and trainees would still be required to maintain their chastity until death.