Businesses, NCAA speak out on N.C. bill restricting LGBT protections

American Airlines and other major businesses across the state and nation are taking a stand against a bill signed into law Wednesday by N.C. Gov. Pat McCrory that invalidates Charlotte’s new legal protections for LGBT individuals.

The NCAA, which is scheduled to hold men’s basketball tournament games in North Carolina in 2017 and 2018, said it’s monitoring events in cities where it plans to hold its sporting events.

At a time when North Carolina is trying to recruit companies to expand and grow in the state, some business leaders said the new measure will jeopardize employee recruitment and economic development in the state.

“We believe no individual should be discriminated against because of gender identity or sexual orientation,” American Airlines spokeswoman Katie Cody said in a statement. “Laws that allow such discrimination go against our fundamental belief of equality and are bad for the economies of the states in which they are enacted.”

American Airlines operates its second-biggest hub at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, where it just reached a new 10-year lease agreement.

The impetus of Wednesday’s special session was a provision in Charlotte’s expanded nondiscrimination ordinance that would allow transgender individuals to use the bathroom that corresponds to the gender with which they identify. Critics said it was “social engineering” to allow people born as biological males into women’s restrooms. The bill prohibits any such bathroom flexibility, but it also will keep Charlotte and any other municipality from adding new protections for gays, lesbians or transgender individuals.

American has previously joined other major U.S. companies, including Wells Fargo, Apple and Microsoft, in signing a statement opposed to “anti-LGBT” legislation.

“Corporate leaders are speaking out against bills that could allow individuals and businesses to discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and other minorities – versions of which are actively being considered in states across the country,” the companies said. “This proposed legislation is bad for business.”

The companies said that equality in the workplace is a priority for fostering talent and innovation and that such state laws can stifle investment and economic growth.

The Charlotte Chamber has not taken a position on Charlotte’s specific nondiscrimination ordinance, but a spokesman Thursday cited a February letter to the Charlotte City Council stating that the chamber “opposes discrimination in all forms.”

Charlotte-based Bank of America said it backs “public policies that support non-discrimination,” adding: “Bank of America has been steadfast in our commitment to non discrimination and in our support for LGBT employees through progressive workplace policies and practices.”

Payment processor PayPal, which announced plans last week plans to hire 400 in Charlotte for a new operations center, said on Twitter that “inclusion is one of our core values and we are proud to champion LGBTQ equality in N. Carolina and around the world.” McCrory was in Charlotte last week to trumpet the company’s announcement.

In Raleigh, Jim Whitehurst, president and chief executive officer of software company Red Hat, tweeted that his company strongly values diversity, and that House Bill 2 is a “clear step backwards.”

Biotechnology company Biogen, one of the largest employers in the Triangle, and Dow Chemical also both tweeted Wednesday night that they oppose HB2.

Last year in Indiana, there was a nationwide uproar over a “Religious Freedom” law that critics said would make it easy for businesses to discriminate against gay and lesbian individuals. Critics of the North Carolina bill said it was perhaps the most “anti-LGBT legislation” in the nation.

A similar controversy is brewing in Georgia, where the Walt Disney Co. and its subsidiary movie studio Marvel are threatening to pull their film business from the state over a religious liberty bill.

Charlotte sports

Some worry limiting LGBT protections could threaten Charlotte’s image as a host to major sporting events.

Bank of America Stadium has in the past encouraged transgender men and women to use the facilities in which they feel the most comfortable, and Carolina Panthers spokesman Steven Drummond said Thursday that position remains, though he declined to comment on specific legislation. BB&T Ballpark and Charlotte Motor Speedway also allow transgender individuals to use the restroom of their gender identity.

In a statement, the NCAA, the governing body for college athletics, said it will monitor “current events, which include issues surrounding diversity, in all cities bidding on NCAA championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites.”

Future NCAA events scheduled in North Carolina include first- and second-round games in the men’s NCAA basketball tournament in Greensboro in 2017 and in Charlotte in 2018.

“Our commitment to the fair treatment of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, has not changed and is at the core of our NCAA values,” the NCAA said. “It is our expectation that all people will be welcomed and treated with respect in cities that host our NCAA championships and events”

The NCAA was one of the first organizations to express concern about the religious freedom law last year in Indiana. The state later amended the law under pressure from business, civic and sports leaders.

Bad for business

Economist Lee Badgett, a Winston-Salem native, said corporations tend to tout cultures of nondiscrimination for competitive reasons, and they oppose policies that go against them.

“In a bottom line sense, businesses are worried about being able to recruit and retain the best employees, and laws like this are things they point to as making that harder,” said Badgett, who directs the Williams Institute, a UCLA School of Law think tank that focuses on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.

In a statement Wednesday night, Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts said discrimination is not good for business, and called the measure a “bad bill for the Tar Heel State.”

“This legislation threatens to undermine the economic growth and prosperity of Charlotte and North Carolina,” Roberts said.

Joe Traigle, a management consultant, said he and his partner of 21 years moved to Charlotte from Louisiana 10 months ago because they thought it was a “welcoming and open environment for all people.”

They were pleased when the Charlotte city council passed the ordinance and shocked by the legislature’s action on Wednesday. Traigle said he is disappointed that the business community didn’t speak out earlier on the issue.

“Now they’re chasing a train going a thousand miles an hour,” he said.

This story was originally published March 24, 2016 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Businesses, NCAA speak out on N.C. bill restricting LGBT protections."