Editor's note: This version includes an update on a resolution Wilmington's city council passed April 19 to support the repeal of HB2. That vote took place after the April 22 issue this article appears in went to press.

When state legislators convene Apr. 25 for their 2016 short session, they face an issue that has focused a national spotlight on North Carolina: the House Bill 2 law that has generated strong reactions from supporters and opponents alike, including those in the business community.

The General Assembly gathered in special session March 23 to approve the bill, and Gov. Pat McCrory signed it the same night.

Along with the biological identity restroom provision that earned it the “bathroom bill” nickname, the new law also creates a statewide definition of people who are protected against discrimination, and that definition does not include sexual orientation; it prevents local governments and public schools and universities from establishing a different definition; it prevents individuals from suing in North Carolina court for discrimination; and it prevents local governments from requiring contractors to pay employees more than the state’s minimum wage.

The law caused widespread backlash. More than 160 CEOs and executives from national companies, including Apple, Bank of America and Google, have signed a letter opposing the legislation. PayPal canceled its plans to create a headquarters in Charlotte, and Deutsche Bank iced its expansion plans in Cary. 

Some lawmakers have remained staunch in their support of all of the bill’s provisions. Others have said they would consider revising portions of it. 

Elements of the state’s business community also support the law. The website KeepNCSafe.org currently lists about 70 businesses in North Carolina that back the legislation; organizers of the website say that the actual list of supporters tops 300. 

On April 12, Gov. Pat McCrory did amend the law slightly. Through an executive order he included sexual orientation and gender identity among the categories protected from discrimination in hiring by state agencies. He also recommended to the General Assembly that it rollback the law’s provision that individuals cannot sue for discrimination in state court.

Rep. Susi Hamilton (D-New Hanover), the only member of the local delegation that voted against HB2, said she and three fellow Democrats still plan to file a bill to overturn HB2 at the beginning of the upcoming short session.

“Her position is that the executive order didn’t do much to change the essence of the bill, and the whole thing needs to be repealed, period,” said Hamilton’s spokeswoman Tori Jones.

Locally, HB2 is a topic of lively discussion, although the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce and most local governments have declined to take an official position on the law. The Wilmington City Council, however, on April 19 approved a measure calling on for state lawmakers to repeal HB2.

At least two prominent local businesses, nCino and PPD, have released statements affirming their own policies of inclusiveness, while not specifically protesting the new law. 

Wilmington-based tekMountain and its parent company CastleBranch Corp. have been vocal in objecting to the new law. CEO Brett Martin organized an April 7 forum to encourage business community discussion of it. He noted that “hundreds of businesses” in Charlotte and many others in the state and beyond have opposed the law.

“Unfortunately the Wilmington list isn’t that long yet,” he said. “National … companies like Lowes, Hilton and Whole Foods have publicly denounced the law, but locally the business community has not been very vocal.”

As a panelist at the April 7 forum, nCino vice president of marketing and research Jonathan Rowe emphasized that his company “does not discriminate against anyone. I am proud to be part of a company that is so diverse. We grow as a company through our diversity.”

The company, however, has not called for the law’s revision or repeal, and as of April 14, no companies – just individuals – had signed an online petition established by tekMountain to oppose HB2, according to company spokeswoman Elizabeth Bloch.

At the April 7 forum, panelist William Oden III, an attorney in Ward and Smith’s labor and employment practice group, spoke about the law’s provision that deprives individuals of the right to sue in state court for discrimination – the right McCrory is asking the legislature to restore.

Under the new law, Oden said, rather than filing a cause of action in state court, an employee who believes himself to be the victim of discrimination or harassment now must go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Council, which issues a “right to sue” letter. The plaintiff then files suit in federal court.

The EEOC process may be lengthy, simply because of the number of the charges before it, time limitations within the federal process are shorter than in state court, and the federal suit process may be more expensive, Oden said.

While the debate picks back up at the General Assembly, local and business officials will continue to monitor public reaction. 

Last week, the Wake County Convention and Visitors Bureau announced the county had lost more than $700,000 because of HB2-related cancellations, and that 16 other groups were reconsidering their plans to hold events in the county.

Wilmington’s Convention and Visitors Bureau has not seen an impact, according to spokeswoman Connie Nelson.

“To date none of the groups that the CVB is working with have canceled their meetings, conventions or events,” she said last week in an email. “Most of the groups we host are in-state groups so that may be one reason we are not experiencing the cancelation rates that some of the bigger cities with larger facilities are experiencing. 

“We have had about six to eight emails from individuals who expressed their opposition to the bill, some stating that they would not choose to visit North Carolina as long as it is in place,” Nelson added.