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Raleigh, N.C. • The Latest on the economic backlash to a North Carolina law that requires transgender people to use public bathrooms conforming to the sex on their birth certificates and restricts protections for LGBT people. (all times local):
1:10 p.m.
Vermont's governor is inviting PayPal to expand there after the company said it was canceling plans to expand into North Carolina because of a new law that restricts protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
In a statement issued Tuesday, Gov. Peter Shumlin said he had written to PayPal CEO Dan Schulman pointing out that Vermont has a "proud history of non-discrimination and protecting the rights of all citizens."
Shumlin also cited Vermont's burgeoning high-tech industry.
The San Jose, California-based PayPal said Tuesday it was canceling its planned expansion in Charlotte, North Carolina, because of the state's new law. The law includes limits to bathroom options for transgender people, requiring them to use those conforming to the sex on their birth certificates.
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12:30 p.m.
Supporters of a North Carolina law that restricts protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are decrying a decision by PayPal to cancel plans to create 400 jobs in Charlotte.
The North Carolina Values Coalition said Tuesday the company shouldn't insert itself into state policy decisions after needing millions of dollars in promised corporate incentives before pledging to open a Charlotte operation center. The group says PayPal is expanding into Cuba despite its human rights violations.
The Values Coalition led demands for the law because a Charlotte ordinance would have allowed transgender people to use bathrooms conforming to their gender identity. Supporters of state action said that would have given men cover to molest victims in women's bathrooms and locker rooms. Opponents say those claims are bogus.
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10:45 a.m.
PayPal says it's canceling plans to bring 400 jobs to North Carolina after lawmakers passed a law that restricts protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
The San Jose, California-based company said Tuesday it was canceling its planned expansion in Charlotte because of the law, which was signed March 23. Gov. Pat McCrory was on hand to celebrate days earlier when PayPal announced plans to hire about 400 people at a new operation center in Charlotte.
The PayPal announcement is the biggest tangible economic backlash to the state law that more than 100 corporate heads have decried as unfair. They say the law makes it more difficult to attract talent to North Carolina jobs.
Spokesmen for McCrory and legislative leaders did not immediately comment.