Next month, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments with regard to the legality of state laws that prohibit same-sex marriages. And while the issue has been politically divisive, many of the nation’s most powerful corporations — from airlines to insurance to beer to baseball teams — agree that banning gay marriage is not good for business.
“State laws that prohibit or decline to recognize marriages between same-sex couples hamper employer efforts to recruit and retain the most talented workforce possible in those states,” reads an amicus brief [PDF] filed today with the Supreme Court in the matter of Obergefell v. Hodges.
“Our successes depend upon the welfare and morale of all employees, without distinction,” continues the brief, signed by 379 groups. “The burden imposed by inconsistent and discriminatory state laws of having to administer complicated schemes to account for differential treatment of similarly situated employees breeds unnecessary confusion, tension, and diminished employee morale.”
The companies signing onto the brief include Comcast, Coca-Cola, Aetna, Amazon, American Express, Apple, Citigroup, DirecTV, eBay, General Mills, Google, JetBlue, Marriott, MillerCoors, the New England Patriots, NIKE, the San Francisco Giants, Tampa Bay Rays, Verizon, Visa, Twitter, Prudential, Facebook, Staples, Office Depot, Disney and hundreds of other businesses.
They do not have a direct stake in the case before SCOTUS, but they argue that if the court decided to allow each state to decide for itself about marriage equality, “the costs and uncertainty imposed by inconsistent state marriage laws will only continue,” while establishing equality as the law of the land would “reduce current costs, administrative burden, and diversion of resources from our core businesses.”
In 2014, SCOTUS elected to not consider petitions regarding federal appeals court rulings that struck down bans on gay marriage. However, after another appeals court panel subsequently ruled against a fundamental right to marriage for gay couples, it has been brought to the Supremes for resolution.
Here is the full list of names signed to the brief:
A.L. Nella & Company, LLP, CPAs
A.T. Kearney
Aardema Whitelaw, PLLC
Acacia Home LLC
Accenture
Aetna Inc.
Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.
AJ Leo Electric and Solar
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Alaska Airlines
Alcoa Inc.
Amazon Services Inc.
Amazon.com, Inc.
American Airlines Group Inc.
American Apparel
American Express Company
American International Group, Inc
Aparicio-Mercado Law, L.C.
Apple Inc.
AppNexus Inc.
Aramark
Arbor Brewing Company, LLC
Arnold & Porter LLP
Aspen Skiing Company Assemble Sound LLC
AT&T Inc.
Atlas Cut Stone
Atticus Circle
The Austin Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Avanade Inc.
Bain & Company, Inc.
Bakehouse Art Complex
Baker & McKenzie LLP
Bank of America
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation Barclays
Barnes & Noble, Inc.
bebe stores, inc.
Becton, Dickinson and Company
Belcampo Inc.
Ben & Jerry’s
Big Duck Studio, Inc.
Bigelow Villa LLC
Billy’s Farm
BlackRock, Inc.
Bloomberg L.P.
Blue Apron, Inc.
Blue Heron Ventures
Blue Moon Hotel / Winter Haven Hotel
Blume, Faulkner & Skeen, PLLC
Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc
Boston Community Capital, Inc.
Boston Consulting Group
The Boston Foundation
Boston Medical Center Corporation
Boston Scientific Corporation
Brady Mills LLC
BrandQuery LLC
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
Broadcom Corporation
Brocade
Cablevision Systems Corporation
Capital One Financial Corporation
Captain Wendell’s Marine Services LLC
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Care Resource
CBS Corporation
CEB
Central Physical Therapy and Fitness, PSC
CGI
Charlotte Business Guild
The Chubb Corporation
CIGNA Corporation
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Citigroup Inc.
City Catering Company
City Lites Neon, Inc.
The City of Ann Arbor, Michigan
Civitas Public Affairs Group
Clean Yield Asset Management
CloudFlare, Inc.
CMIT Solutions of Seattle Downtown
The Coca-Cola Company
Cohen & Associates
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Columbia FunMap, Inc.
Comcast Corporation
The Computer Butler
ConAgra Foods, Inc.
The Corcoran Group
Corner Brewery, LLC
Corning Incorporated
Cox Enterprises, Inc.
Crazy Misfits Pet Services
Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC Cummins Inc.
Cupcake Royale
CVS Health Corporation
Dallas Voice
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc.
Danaher Corporation
David J. Jarrett, P.C.
David Kosar Insurance Agency
David Mack Henderson Income Tax Preparation
DCI Group AZ, L.L.C.
Deloitte LLP
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation
The Desert Business Association
Deutsche Bank AG
Diageo North America, Inc.
DIRECTV
DocuSign
Domini Social Investments LLC
The Dow Chemical Company
Dreamcatcher Arts and Publishing Ltd.
Dropbox, Inc.
DuPont
eBay Inc.
Edelman
Eldercare Consulting
Electronic Arts Inc.
EnduringHydro, LLC
Ernst & Young LLP
The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.
Event Rents
Everything Real Estate LLC
Express Movers Inc.
Facebook, Inc.
Farella Braun + Martel, LLP
Fastsigns
Fenwick & West LLP
First Data Corporation
1st Security Bank
1stdibs.Com, Inc.
FIT Technologies
Flanery CPA
Full Court Press Communications
G.A.W., Inc.
The Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Nevada
General Electric Company
General Mills, Inc.
Gensler
Gilt Groupe Holdings, Inc.
GlaxoSmithKline LLC
Gleason & Associates Claims Services
Go Factory, Inc.
Goethel Engelhardt, PLLC
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Google Inc.
Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
Great Officiants LLC
The Greater Connecticut Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Greater San Diego Business Association
Greater Seattle Business Association
Greensulate
Grossman Marketing Group
Group Health Cooperative
Groupon
Growing Hope
Harrell Remodeling
The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc.
Healthline
Hewlett-Packard Company
Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc.*
Holdredge Wines
Homeward Pet Adoption Center
Horizon Air Industries, Inc.
House Packard LLC
HSBC
Ikard Wynne LLP
The Independence Business Alliance
The Inland Northwest Business Alliance Insala, Ltd
Inspirato, LLC
Integrated Archive Systems, Inc.
Integrity Law Group
Intel Corporation
Intuit Inc.
INUS Group, LLC
Jackson Hole Group LLC
Jagod Designs
Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Jenn T. Grace International LLC
Jennifer Brown Consulting
JetBlue Airways Corporation
The Jim Henson Company
Johnson & Johnson
Johnston, Kinney and Zulaica LLP
Jonathan L. Bowman, Attorney at Law, PS
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Julian Chang Consulting, Inc.
kapchur.us photography
The Kathy A. Janssen Foundation
Kazan, McClain, Satterley, & Greenwood, PLC
Keir Jones Agency – State Farm
Keker & Van Nest LLP
KEO Marketing Inc.
Kimberly-Clark Corp.
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC
Kollmar Sheet Metal Works, Inc.
Kotzan Chiropractic
KPMG LLP
Lambda Business Association
Laparoscopic Institute for Gynecologic Oncology
Larson Marketing & Communications LLC
Laughton Properties
Law Offices of Joel L. Sogol
Law Office of Lisa E. Schuchman
Law Office of Lorie L. Burch, PC
Law Offices of Robin L. Bodiford, P.A.
The Law Office of Susan K. Fuller, PLLC
Levi Strauss & Co.
Liberty Burger
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP
Life & Love Celebrations
Link in the Chain Foundation, Inc.
Littler Mendelson, P.C.
LNT, Inc.
The Long Beach Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Lori Karbal et al
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC
The Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Main Street Hair Shoppe Ltd.
Marriott International, Inc.
Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company
McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.*
McKesson Corporation
McKinsey & Company, Inc.
Merca Property Management
The Miami-Dade Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Microsoft Corporation
The Mid-America Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Miller & Olson, LLP
Miller Shelton Group, LLC
MillerCoors LLC
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C.
Mona Smith PLLC
Moody’s Corporation
Morgan Miller Plumbing
Morgan Stanley
MWW Public Relations
NAMI Dallas, Inc.
The Nashville LGBT Chamber of Commerce
The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company
Neumann Capital Management, LLC
The New England Patriots
New Leaf Columbus
New York Life Insurance Company
Nifty Hoops, LLC
NIKE, Inc.
Nixon Peabody LLP
North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce
Northrop Grumman Corporation
OBOX Solutions
Office Depot, Inc.
The Ogilvy Group, Inc.
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
ONE Community Media, LLC
1 Source Consulting Solutions
Oracle America, Inc.
Orbitz Worldwide, Inc.
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Outerwall Inc.
Pakmode Publications, LLC d/b/a Pakmode Media + Marketing
Pandora Media, Inc.
PATH
Peabody & Arnold LLP
Pepper Hamilton LLP
PepsiCo
Pfizer Inc.
Pixelligent Technologies LLC
Plexus Education Foundation
Plexus LGBT and Allied Chamber of Commerce
Portland Area Business Association
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PrideFest
The PrintingWorks
Pro-Tec Data, Inc.
Procter & Gamble
ProTrials Research, Inc.
Prudential Financial, Inc.
Puma Spring Vineyards
Qualcomm Incorporated
Quorum
RAFI Architecture and Design
Rainbow Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley Ralph’s Regal Weddings
Ray Holley Communications
RBC Capital Markets, LLC
Replacements, Ltd.
Restaurant Management Concepts
Reverberate! Marketing Communications, Inc.
Rising Tide Brewing Company
RJR Photography
Robert H Stutz Jr CPA
Rockwell Automation, Inc.
Rotella & Hernandez, LLC
The Sacramento Rainbow Chamber of Commerce
Sadek Bonahoom PLC
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
The San Francisco Giants
The Seattle Lesbian, LLC
Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
Sempra Energy
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Shingles Roofing LLC
Sidetrack, Inc.
Simon, Schindler & Sandberg LLP
Skellenger Bender, P.S.
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Sleeves Up Productions, LLC
Sōw
Spectra Law PS
Spry Vision, Inc.
St. Jude Medical, Inc.
Staples, Inc.
Starbucks Corporation
Starrtek LLC
State Street Corporation
Steven Graves Insurance Agency
Stonewall Behavioral Health
Stonewall Columbus
Stuffed Cakes, LLC
Sun Life Financial (U.S.) Services Company, Inc.
SunDaily
Support.com, Inc.
Sweet Dixie Kitchen
Symantec Corporation
Taber Food Services, Inc.
dba Hobee’s California Restaurants
The Tampa Bay Rays
Target Corporation
TD Bank, N.A.
TD Securities (USA) LLC
Tech Data Corporation
TestTracks
Thinking Cap Communications & Design
Third Point LLC
Thomson Reuters
Tiwary Entertainment Group LLC
TNT Promotions, LLC
TOCA Events, LLC
TravelOut, Inc.
Tutta Bella Neapolitan Pizzeria
Twitter, Inc.
206 Inc.
UBS AG
The Ultimate Software Group, Inc.
United Air Lines, Inc.
United Therapeutics Corporation
Uptown Physicians Group
VCB Consulting & Accounting Services
Verizon Communications Inc.
Viacom Inc.
Visa Inc.
VitaPerk
VMware, Inc.
W. M. Martin Advertising
W.W. Grainger, Inc.
W/S Development Associates LLC
Walsh Wellness Center
The Walt Disney Company
Wasserman Media Group
Wells Fargo & Company
Whey Natural! USA LLC
Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce
Witeck Communications, Inc.
The Workplace Equality Index
Wyndham Worldwide Corporation
Xerox Corporation
Xfund
YES DESIGN GROUP
Ypsilanti Downtown Development Authority
Zausmer, Kaufman, August & Caldwell, P.C.
Zingerman’s Community of Businesses
ZoomSystems
Zynga Inc.
by Chris Morran via Consumerist
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