Chick- Fil- A and Same Sex Marriages
Regina Antone-Smith
BUS-7200/HRF-7001 Value Systems and Professional Ethics
June, 6 2014
Jennifer Stephens

Chick- Fil- A and Same Sex Marriages In the summer of 2012, the billionaire family behind fast food chain Chick-fil-A found themselves in hot water. It’s not every day that the leader of a big business steps into a national debate that has the potential to offend many of its customers. But Dan Cathy, president of the popular fast food chain Chick-fil-A, has done just that The fast food chains in-your-face Christian values it was Dan Cathy’s reaffirmation of his firm’s same-sex marriage stance that set off a wave of protests. Cathy admitted his anti-equality stance probably wasn’t a wise business decision, regretting making the company a symbol in the marriage debate. On the one hand, you could argue leaders of businesses, particularly private, family-owned ones, should be able to speak their minds. But when a business leader elects to take a public and vocal position on a hot-button political issue in an election year, he or she also risks losing the support of many of its customers. “Every leader goes through different phases of maturity, growth and development and it helps by (recognizing) the mistakes that you make,” Cathy said. “And you learn from those mistakes. If not, you’re just a fool. I’m thankful that I lived through it and I learned a lot from it( McGregor, J. (2012, July 19). Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy bites into gay-marriage debate. Washington Post.) Consumers want to do business with brands that they can interface with, that they can relate with. What is clear is that his family’s fried chicken business, which made $4.6 billion in sales in 2012, will be staying out of the fray when it comes to equality. Chick-Fil-A is not like many companies. Their business and marketing model is built on religious beliefs, and has been more than successful. CEOs should be wary of making controversial personal statements when they are representing the business they run. Freedom of speech is not the issue because those that disagree with the controversial statements also have the same right.

Question One Companies must be careful when their religious beliefs might offend employees and customers. Mixing business with beliefs can sometimes cause a negative outlook on your business. Businesses should never take a stand on public issues. It’s clear that chick fil-A needs to improve on embracing there employees that might not follow what Chick Fil-A CEO thinks is the traditional family of a man and women. The information I have learned researching for this assignment has taught me that you never want your employees to feel uncomfortable while in the workplace especially when it can be prevented by keeping certain beliefs and comments to yourself. A CEO should never cross the line where they have offended employees and customers because of a statement because they do represent that brand.

Question Two A company should not be free to hire people by sexual orientation because we do have laws. Although federal laws protect people from workplace discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, sex, age, and disability, there is no federal law that specifically outlaws workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the private sector. (Federal government workers are protected from such discrimination.) Attempts to pass federal legislation that would outlaw sexual orientation discrimination in private workplaces have been unsuccessful to date, although more members of Congress support such a bill each year. There is more hope at the state level. Almost half the states and the District of Columbia have laws that currently prohibit sexual orientation discrimination in both public and private jobs: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin

Question Three According to the law Dan Cathy did not have legitimate grounds for claiming that his own religious freedom would be violated if he were prevented from doing business in cities or states that legally allow same-sex marriages. By Mr. Cathy's continued stand on his views you would not want to bring a big debate into your town. Most states Representatives would detour from that kind of publicity. The media kept saying Chick-fil-A has never discriminated, but the truth is that Chick-fil-A has been sued over a dozen times for employment discrimination. That's what a leading business publication, Forbes, stated in 2007, when they also called Chick-fil-A a "cult" and reported that Chick-fil-A's founder Mr. Cathy said he wanted to hire married people because they are more industrious and productive and that he would probably fire someone who "has been sinful or done something harmful to their family members"( Badash, D. (2012, August 1). Chick-fil-A: 5 Reasons It Isn't What You Think. The Huffington Post).

Question Four Benefits should be offered to legal same sex partners because domestic partnership and marriage serve different purposes for people in different situations. But people in all situations need equal access to affordable health insurance and other employment benefits. It is not fair to offer benefits only to employees who are married or not allowed to marry. All people should freely choose whether to marry; none should be forced into a complex, often costly legal relationship simply by the need for health care and related benefits. We all agree that it’s discriminatory, since benefits make up a substantial part of an employee’s compensation. Providing health benefits for one employee’s family member but not another’s violates the basic policy of equal pay for equal work, and could be considered discrimination on the basis of sex, gender, sexual orientation, and marital status.

Conclusion Diversity must remain at the forefront within the Chick fil a company. The first step is to quantify the gap by determining the division that exists between the situation and the desired outcome which is embracing diversity by having gay employees fell secure and comfortable about their sexual orientation in the work place. Chick-Fil-A has, more likely or not, has probably employed at least one homosexual individual at one point, and those who have been employed by the company should feel secure and comfortable with their workplace. Working for a company that funds groups that wants to strip the aforementioned person of their rights does not accomplish the goal of security in the workplace.

Reference
Badash, D. (2012, August 1). Chick-fil-A: 5 Reasons It Isn't What You Think. The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-badash/chick-fil-a-5-reasons-it-isnt-what-you-think_b_1725237.html
DeGeorge, R. T. (2010). Business ethics (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
McGregor, J. (2012, July 19). Chick-fil-A president Dan Cathy bites into gay-marriage debate. Washington Post. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-leadership/post/chick-fil-a-president-dan-cathy-bites-into-gay-marriage-debate/2012/07/19/gJQACrvzvW_blog.html
(n.d.). Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml