Values

LS&Co. Stands With Companies Against Travel Ban


Levi Strauss & Co.
September 19, 2017

At the core of any business is its people. And being able to attract the best of the best, regardless of where they are from, is essential.

And so, we have joined more than 160 other leading companies – including Chobani, Google, eBay and Salesforce, among others – in signing onto a court filing in support of a lawsuit from the state of Hawaii challenging the U.S. Administration’s travel ban.

According to the amicus brief, those who signed on say the ban “makes it more difficult for them to hire the very best talent, to send their employees abroad, to grow their operations, and, fundamentally, to compete in the global economy” and “will therefore stifle the Nation’s economic growth and global competitiveness.”

The brief argues that the ban inflicts substantial harm on U.S. companies, their employees, and the economy on the whole. It says the ban would hinder the ability to attract talented employees; increases business costs; and makes it more difficult to compete globally while potentially encouraging others to build and hire outside of the United States.

Furthermore, the brief states, the ban is antithetical to what makes this country what it is today. From our perspective, the ban goes against our company’s guiding values. “It is, in fact, our values that are guiding our perspective,” LS&Co. President and CEO Chip Bergh wrote in January when the ban first took effect before being blocked by courts. “Our success has been based on our ability to attract and retain the very best talent from all backgrounds, to embrace diversity, to be inclusive and benefit from different perspectives.”

This is the second such brief LS&Co. has signed onto; the first was in February. For more, read the full amicus brief.