RALEIGH, N.C. — Corporations expressed disappointment and the NCAA vowed to monitor what North Carolina does next now that the state has banned any local government measures protecting people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
American Airlines, which operates its second-largest hub in Charlotte; IBM and Biogen, which have facilities in the state’s Research Triangle; and payments processor PayPal, which had announced plans to hire 400 people in Charlotte only last week, were among major employers condemning the new law.
Many similar bills are being considered in state legislatures, but North Carolina is the first in the nation to require public school and university students to use only those bathrooms that match their birth certificates, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures.
The state law “is a clear step backwards. Sad day,” tweeted Jim Whitehurst, chief executive of Raleigh-based open-source software company Red Hat.
The economic impact will take time to quantify. There were no immediate threats to withdraw business from the state, which has seen booming growth and an influx of “knowledge workers” in Charlotte and Raleigh, even as rural towns lag behind economically.
Democrats warned that North Carolina risks losing billions in federal education dollars by conflicting with Title IX anti-discrimination regulations that apply in public schools.
The NCAA, which is scheduled to hold men’s basketball tournament games in Greensboro in 2017 and Charlotte in 2018, said it takes diversity into account when it chooses its event sites.
“Our commitment to the fair treatment of all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, has not changed,” the organization’s statement 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 Legislature called a special session to void the Charlotte ordinance, which would have enabled transgender people to legally use restrooms aligned with their gender identity, and would have provided broad protections against discrimination in public accommodations in the state’s largest city.
The new law now prevents the state’s cities and counties from passing their own anti-discrimination rules, and instead imposes a statewide standard that leaves out sexual orientation and gender identity.
Republican Gov. Pat McCrory had urged the GOP-led Legislature to give him a bill that solely addressed bathrooms, but he signed it anyway late Wednesday, even after lawmakers added other limits on local governments — most notably, prohibiting cities and counties from requiring businesses to pay more than the state’s minimum wage, currently $7.25 an hour.
Supporters say the new law protects all people from having to share bathrooms with people who make them feel unsafe. Advocates for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights say it demonizes them with bogus claims about bathroom risks.
