Walmart CEO to Arkansas governor: veto ‘religious freedom’ legislation

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Daniel Roberts

The retail giant is the just the latest to jump into the fray over state legislation that some say would allow discrimination.

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon is asking Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson to step up and veto a ‘religious freedom’ law, HB1228, that the state’s lawmakers approved on Tuesday.

A great deal of Walmart’s  WMT -1.17%  corporate character is shaped by the state of Arkansas. It is where Sam Walton founded the retail giant in 1962, with the first store in the town of Rogers. It is home to the company’s “Home Office,” its U.S. headquarters, in Bentonville, where some 16,000 of of its 2.2 million employees are based.

In a statement posted to the company’s Walmart Newsroom Twitter account, McMillion said that the legislation, “threatens to undermine the spirit of inclusion present throughout the state of Arkansas and does not reflect the values we proudly uphold.” Hutchinson has expressed concerns about the law, but has also said that he would sign it if it “reaches my desk” in a similar form to what has been passed in some 20 other states.

It is the same law that is causing trouble for Indiana and its governor Mike Pence, who passed the bill, which is seen as discriminatory, a week ago. Since then, Indiana has seen a public outcry from corporations, celebrities, and athletes.

In speaking out against the law, McMillon joins other prominent executives, such as Salesforce  CRM -0.82% CEO Mark Benioff and Apple  AAPL -0.02%  CEO Tim Cook, who have voiced opposition to the legislation. In the sports world, the NCAA is set to hold the Final Four of its basketball tournament in the state, but NCAA president Mark Emmert has said that the law, “strikes at the core values of what higher education in America is all about.” ESPN’s Keith Olbermann, in his program on Tuesday, went further and suggested the NCAA ought to pull the Final Four from Indiana and relocate it immediately.

“Every day, in our stores, we see firsthand the benefits diversity and inclusion have on our associates,” said the Walmart statement. “We are asking Governor Hutchinson,” it concluded, “to veto this legislation.”