Target publicly announced its support of gay marriage by signing an amicus brief last Tuesday, only years after the company experienced media attention and severe opposition from the gay activist community for supporting a Repbulican who opposed gay marriages.
The brief opposes the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), and specifically its lack of federal benefit protection to LGBT couples. It is currently pending in the Seventh Circuit Court.
“It is our belief that everyone should be treated equally under the law, and that includes rights we believe individuals should have related to marriage,” wrote Jodee Kozlak, the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Target, in a letter in Target’s newsletter.
“At Target, we have long offered comprehensive, competitive benefits to our LGBT team members and their families, often above what is legally required. We continue to do so today because we believe doing so is right for our team and for our business,” she went on. “But current laws – in places like Wisconsin and Indiana that are addressed in this brief – make it difficult to attract and retain talent. These disparate laws also create confusing and complicated benefits challenges across multiple states.”
In 2010, Target received criticism from the LGBT community for donating large sums of money to an organization that supported Tom Emmer, a Republican who was strongly against gay marriage and was running for Minnesota’s governor at the time.
However, since the incident, Target had been working to provide benefits for its LGBT employees above and beyond what other companies may offer, trying to show its support for the LGBT community. The Human Rights Campaign showed that Target scored 100 in its 2014 Corporate Equality Index, which measures companies’ employment opportunities and benefits and watches for any indications of discrimination based on sexual orientation.
