Open Letter to Lowe’s Concerning Illegal Provisions of Making It … with Lowe’s Promotion

Lowe’s recognizes that “entrepreneurs continue to face extraordinary challenges as they work to stabilize their businesses” so launched a program to “help[ ] lift your product — your business — to the next level[.]” There’s just one problem: Lowe’s only made “diverse” businesses eligible to participate.

That’s why, today, the ACR Project alerted Lowe’s that, in its current form, the “Making It … with Lowe’s” promotion discriminates based on race, ethnicity, sex, and gender, in violation of state and Federal law.  The ACR Project warned Lowe’s that the discriminatory provisions of the promotion open: (a) the company to potentially serious liability to America’s small businesses; and (b) Lowe’s officers and directors to potentially serious liability to Lowe’s shareholders.

The letter, which asks Lowe’s to amend the terms and conditions of the program to treat all businesses fairly as law requires, is below.