Walmart attacks Arkansas religious freedom bill for sending 'wrong message'

Walmart, the US’s largest private employer, came out swinging on Tuesday against state legislation legalising discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, calling the move against its “core basic beliefs”.

The retail giant is headquartered in Arkansas which on Monday followed Indiana in passing a bill – HB1228 – that allows individuals to discriminate against LGBT people if they feel doing so would “substantially burden” their religious freedom.

“Every day, in our stores, we see firsthand the benefits diversity and inclusion have on our associates, customers and communities we serve. It all starts with the core basic belief of respect for the individual. And that means understanding and respecting differences and being inclusive of all people. While HB1228 will not change how we treat our associates and operate our business, we feel this legislation is counter to this core basic belief and sends the wrong message about Arkansas, as well as the diverse environment which exists in the state,” Walmart senior director of communication Lorenzo Lopez said.

The company employs 1.3 million people across the US and is the largest private employer in Arkansas, where the chain was founded in 1962. Walmart had voiced its concerns about the legislation ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

The statement will increase pressure on Governor Asa Hutchinson not to sign the bill into law. On Monday, Scott Howe, the CEO of Acxiom, a big data company also based in the state and one of its largest employers, wrote to Hutchinson: “Simply stated, this bill inflicts pain on some of our citizens and disgrace upon us all.”

The bill has also condemned the legislation, as has the mayor of Little Rock, the state’s capital. “Any piece of legislation that is so divisive cannot possibly be good for the state of Arkansas and its people. With these kind of ‘wedge issues’, no one is a winner on either side,” Mark Stodola, the Democratic mayor of the state’s biggest city, wrote to Hutchinson, a Republican, Tuesday.

Walmart joins Apple, Eli Lilly, Gap, Levi’s, Yelp and other companies in condemning the spread of legislation they argue undermines the rights of their employees.

Last week Apple CEO Tim Cook tweeted: “Apple is open for everyone. We are deeply disappointed in Indiana’s new law and calling on Arkansas Gov. to veto the similar #HB1228.”

In a Washington Post editorial, Cook said there was “something very dangerous happening in states across the country” and decried a “wave of legislation, introduced in more than two dozen states, [that] would allow people to discriminate against their neighbors”.