Big business speaks out against religious- objections legislation in states such as Indiana and Arkansas.

Businesses want to send message of welcoming anyone

A bevy of big-name businesses including Apple, Gap and Levi Strauss are publicly speaking out against religious-objections legislation i n states such as Indiana and Arkansas.

The world’s largest retailer and America’s largest private employer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., waded into the debate this week when its CEO urged Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinsen to veto a bill that critics said would open the door to discrimination against gays and lesbians.

Wednesday, Hutchinson backed away from his promise to sign a controversial religious-objections bill, bowing to pressure from WalMart and other large state employers. The Republican governor said he wants the Legislature either to recall the bill from his desk or pass a follow-up measure that would make the proposal more closely mirror a federal religious-freedom law.

In early 2014, a similar corporate outcry used threats of re- duced business to help convince Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer to veto legislation that would have allowed businesses to refuse service to gays based on the owner’s religious beliefs.

Gone are the days when companies could just sit tight and hope that hot-button topics would blow over without them having to make a statement about it. These days businesses get instant feedback from customers on how they feel about an issue, thanks to social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

Social media catapulted objections to Indiana’s law to the forefront fast, said Laura Ries, presi- dent of marketing strategy firm Ries & Ries. That helped force companies to make their voices heard publicly, she said.

The companies can’t stay silent because many customers would see that as tacit support of the laws, she said.

In addition, many of the companies that have weighed in deal directly with consumers. Because so much of the debate centers on whether businesses can deny services to certain groups, Wal-Mart and other retailers could feel the need to forcefully send a message that they’re open to all customers.

John Challenger, CEO of outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said that speaking out on t he religious- objections legislation may not have been too difficult for some companies because it is not as divisive as some previous hot topics in the U.S., such as gun control. “This issue seems to so many to be such a wrong,” he said.

Increasingly, companies feel they have to speak up on social issues that could prompt backlash from customers or make companies lose out on talented employees, Challenger said.

“Big U.S. companies realize that their customers and employees care that the company is doing the right thing,” he said.

With the general public becoming more supportive of gay rights and against all forms of discrimination, Ries says businesses are seeing that they need to keep pace with evolving views.

“Companies want to be ready for the future and supportive of employees and consumers,” she said.

Nancy Rafuse, Practice Group chairman for Labor & Employment at Atlanta’s Polsinelli, said that today’s businesses want to be inclusive and have a “diversity of people and thoughts and ideas” that will help the business appeal to customers who are also diverse. Businesses are also worried about threatened boycotts of states that pass such laws. That can hurt tourism or cause companies to reduce business in the state.