LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – The nation’s largest employer is expanding the definition of “immediate family” in its ethics policy to include an employee’s same-sex partner.

The Wal-Mart Stores Inc. policy change – disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday – accounts for the laws in some states that recognize domestic partnerships and civil unions, officials said.

Company spokesman Gus Whitcomb on Thursday declined to say if the change would affect employee benefits, or whether it meant Wal-Mart was taking a position on the issue of same-sex marriage or civil unions.

A national lobbying group for gay and lesbian issues, nevertheless, praised the move.

“We are encouraged by this sign showing America’s heartland employer understands same-sex couples share the responsibilities that come with being a family,” Daryl Herrschaft, deputy director of Human Rights Campaign’s WorkNet program, said in a statement.

The revisions deal with sections of the company’s ethics code that bar employees from using confidential information to benefit themselves or immediate family members, and from approaching Wal-Mart’s suppliers about jobs for immediate family members, the company said.

“We updated our statement of ethics,” Whitcomb said. “That brings us into compliance with state laws in terms of how they look at individuals with regard to policies” where a worker’s immediate family would be a factor, he said.

For instance, in Massachusetts, where same-sex marriage is legal, Wal-Mart would expect its workers in that state to abide by the company’s ethics policy as it pertains to families, Whitcomb said.

Wal-Mart, based in Bentonville, is the world’s largest retailer.