Hobby Lobby

Reasons to avoid

1. Hobby Lobby sued the federal government to deny female employees contraception coverage under the ACA. In a 5-4 ruling (Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, 2014), the Supreme Court sided with the company — the first time a for-profit corporation was granted a religious exemption that reduced employee health benefits. Every female justice voted against the decision.law.cornell.edu2014-06-30
2. The Department of Justice fined Hobby Lobby $3 million and forced it to forfeit more than 5,500 ancient Iraqi artifacts — cuneiform tablets, cylinder seals, and clay bullae — smuggled into the US with falsely labeled shipping packages marked as 'ceramic tile samples.' The company had been warned by its own legal expert that the acquisition carried looting risk, but proceeded anyway.cnn.com2017-07-05
3. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Hobby Lobby defied state stay-at-home orders in Colorado, Wisconsin, and Ohio, keeping stores open and telling employees God would protect them. Attorneys general in multiple states issued cease-and-desist letters, and at least one store was forcibly closed by police.westword.com2020-04-02
4. Following its Supreme Court win, Hobby Lobby sought a formal exemption from an Obama administration policy that banned employers from discriminating against job applicants based on sexual orientation — a direct extension of the company's religious exemption strategy.themarysue.com2023-05-29
5. A foundation linked to Hobby Lobby founder David Green donated $7 million to 'election integrity' groups working to contest the 2024 election results, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis. The foundation had also given over $50 million to Alliance Defending Freedom — an anti-LGBTQ organization the Southern Poverty Law Center designates as a hate group — between 2018 and 2020.fortune.com2024-10-23