Gusto - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Gusto is Medium Risk.

Gusto is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company elevates merit, excellence, and integrity ahead of race and identity-based policies. Gusto occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Gusto received a score of 70 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). Gusto has a written policy pledging to vet vendors for LGBTQ policies. Its nondiscrimination policy requires vendors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in its nondiscrimination policy (3). However, the company has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (4).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Gusto does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Gusto’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). Gusto does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3)(4).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Gusto was part of the Freedom for All Americans coalition, which advocated for federal legislation that would overrule state laws designed to protect girls’ sports and similar laws (1). The company opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (2). Gusto opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (3)(4). The comapny signed an open letter endorsing the Equality Act, a contentious proposal to amend the 1964 Civil Rights Act by adding sexual orientation and so-called gender identity as protected categories. The legislation would, among other implications, grant biological men access to women-only spaces such as sports teams and public restrooms, and compel healthcare providers to deliver sex-denying healthcare (5). Gusto has used its Twitter page to endorse the BLM movement and support the pay inequity narrative (6)(7). The company’s CEO Joshua Reeves also published a memo opposing (potential) Trump-era immigration policy in January 2017, a few days before Trump’s inauguration (8). Gusto’s, Head of Legal, Liza Kostinskaya, co-signed a letter to law firms demanding an improvement in diversity in order to retain business with the company (9). The company opposed legislation in Iowa intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (10).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Gusto’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). Gusto raised $70,000 for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in 2017 (3)(4). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (5).