Microsoft Agrees to End Alleged Discrimination Against Faith-Based Organizations in Discount Program

Alliance Defending Freedom alleged Microsoft withheld discounts to ADF and certain nonprofits.

Microsoft Corp. has signed an agreement addressing accusations that it used a litmus test to deny software discounts to conservative faith-based groups. Alliance Defending Freedom, a legal advocacy organization involved in overturning Roe v Wade and other religious-freedom cases, claimed that Microsoft denied discounts to ADF itself and to certain nonprofits, including religious groups that don't hire LGBTQ people and pregnancy resource centers that don't provide abortions.

Investors represented by ADF had planned to use these allegations at Microsoft's December 5 annual meeting to request a report on the company's discounting practices.

After Microsoft declared that nonprofits aren't required to certify nondiscrimination to receive discounts now or in the future, the investors withdrew their proposal. The agreement between Microsoft and the shareholder group was finalized on October 10, as viewed by Bloomberg News, and had not been previously disclosed.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Microsoft explained that its discount program is intended for "a broad group" of nonprofits. "We don't think it's desirable to pick and choose among these organizations based on ideological orientation. In this instance, we found that a small number of organizations that should have been eligible for these discounts were not receiving them. We've fixed this and those organizations are now eligible."

This agreement follows ADF's earlier settlements with OpenAI and Asana Inc. regarding lawsuits filed on behalf of Holy Sexuality, a Christian nonprofit in California. According to ADF, both companies agreed to remove barriers to discounts for religious organizations. OpenAI declined to comment, while Asana did not respond to inquiries.

"It's important for Big Tech providers to treat people fairly and to not draw these squiggly lines that say, 'Well, we'll give you nonprofit pricing unless you're a religious group,'" said Alexandra Gaiser, ADF's senior counsel.

On November 3, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier sent a letter to Microsoft, which he shared on social media, warning that denying discounts to faith-based groups and pregnancy centers that don't offer abortions could lead to legal action from the state.

Microsoft's agreement with ADF explicitly stated that there is no categorical exclusion preventing pregnancy centers from accessing these discounts.

Companies have been adjusting their positions on diversity, equity and inclusion since President Donald Trump returned to office and initiated efforts against what he termed "illegal DEI." LGBTQ inclusion programs have become particularly contentious, with many large employers reducing funding for pride events, removing references to gender pronouns, withdrawing from LGBTQ-friendly workplace rankings, and making other changes due to regulatory concerns.

"Corporations are coming back to being neutral, profit-seeking entities, which is ultimately what we'd like to see," Florida's Uthmeier stated in an interview.

While many companies continue to support LGBTQ rights, the conservative pressure is revealing the fragility of progress made, according to Fabrice Houdart, founder and executive director of the Association of LGBTQ+ Corporate Directors in New York.

"As soon as the wind changed, the vibe changed," he observed.

Currently, the momentum appears to favor conservative initiatives, according to Jerry Bowyer, an adviser to Houston financial firm Patron Partners, which initiated the Microsoft shareholder proposal. He indicated that companies potentially targeted by similar proposals shouldn't need to acknowledge past behavior as long as they commit to avoiding belief-based policies as screening criteria in the future.

"That message is resonating and bearing fruit with investor relations and other people we're meeting," he said.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)