68 major companies—including Apple, Bloomberg, LinkedIn, and Morgan Stanley—have filed a joint motion in an attempt file an amicus curiae brief to support the Justice Department’s lawsuit against North Carolina. The DOJ sued NC in May over the state’s controversial law, HB2. This statute prohibits transgender people from using public restrooms matching their gender identity. The feds say it violates civil rights legislation, and they are demanding a preliminary injunction.
HB2 would hurt their transgender employees, the companies said in their motion filed on Friday with The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina.
“Many proposed amici employ or serve transgender persons subject to H.B. 2, and all proposed amici are concerned about the stigmatizing effects of H.B. 2 and its implications for the transgender community in and outside of North Carolina,” they wrote, in the filing obtained by The Hill.
The companies said HB2 gets in the way of their ability to “recruit and retain a diverse workforce and is imposing a substantial disincentive to investment and commerce in the State, directly impacting their bottom line.”
Now, the companies want leave to file an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief to support the Justice Department, and influence the ruling.
“As set forth above, proposed amici’s brief will advise the Court of the adverse social and economic effects of H.B. 2 on businesses in and outside of North Carolina—in particular, adverse effects on proposed amici’s employee morale and recruitment efforts—as well as proposed amici’s own experience with non-discrimination policies that permit transgender persons to use the facilities that correspond to their gender identity,” they wrote.
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