More than three dozen companies have
filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs challenging
Florida's ban on gay marriage.
A judge's ruling ordering the state to
begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples is expected to take
effect on January 6.
While Florida officials defending the
ban were unable to persuade either the Eleventh Circuit Court of
Appeals in Atlanta or the Supreme Court to block implementation of
the ruling, they have yet to drop an appeal in the case.
“State laws and constitutions denying
marriage to gay and lesbian citizens are bad for our businesses,”
the companies wrote in their friend-of-the-court
brief filed last week. “Amici are forced to bear unnecessary
costs, complexity and risk in managing our companies, and we are
hampered in our efforts to recruit and retain the most talented
workforce possible – all of which places us at a competitive
disadvantage.”
“The burden – imposed by state law
– of having to administer complicated schemes designed to account
for different treatment of similarly situated employees interferes
with our business and creates unnecessary confusion, tension, and
ultimately, diminishes employee morale.”
Companies joining the brief include
Akamai Technologies, Alcoa, Amazon, AT&T, CBS Corp., Cox
Enterprises, Delta Air Lines, Deutsche Bank, eBay, Electronic Arts,
First Equity, Garvin Financial Group, General Electric, Joint Force
Management Group, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, Levi Strauss,
Marriott International, MD/DO Recruiters, Mindpower, Oracle America,
Oracle Corp., Pfizer, Pridelines Youth Services, Professional Asset
Recovery of GA, Reserva Wines, Rockwell Automation, SHS Management,
Staples, State Street Corp., Sun Life Financial, Sun Life Financial
Services Company, Symantec Corp., Target Corp., Team 7 Consulting,
United Therapeutics Corp., Viacom and Whey Natural! USA.
The Eleventh Circuit is expected to
review the case early next year.
(Related: Supreme
Court has “tipped its hand” in favor of gay marriage.)