Home Depot stops doing business with federal government (even cash!)

Saint Louis Today ^ | June 16, 2002

[John Jorsett]

Home Depot Inc., the nation's largest hardware and home-improvement chain, has told its 1,400 stores not to do business with the U.S. government or its representatives.

The Post-Dispatch checked with managers at 38 stores in 11 states. All but two said they had received instructions from Home Depot's corporate headquarters this month not to take government credit cards, purchase orders or even cash if the items are being used by the federal government.

[PeteePie]

Don't count on it sir. A lot of us in the military understand the reality of Big Brother and the falicy of PC-ness. I suspect many of my brethren will view an "Off Limits" decree as a challenge to their personal freedom and, in the spirit of righteous rebellion that sparked this great nation, will shop the sh#$ out of Home Depot. Here's one old sarge that'll buy my next flag there.

[Chemist_Geek]

I kind of wonder if Home Depot just issued a blanket statement because they didn't really know how the system works. If a guy who works for the government shows up with an IMPAC credit card to buy some stuff for the local military base, you just scan the card, have the guy sign the reciept, and he's on his way with the stuff. As for cash purchases, I don't think the govt. even does that anymore. They make everybody use direct deposit and material is only purchased with purchase orders or credit cards because they have minimized cutting checks and disbursing cash, at least as much as possible.

The real paperwork and audit hassle comes when you want to be a GSA-approved contractor so that you can sell them large volumes and/or high-dollar stuff. I'm guessing that the big boys at Home Depot didn't know this and just issued a blanket policy, or maybe the govt. did something to really piss them off. Who knows?

A sufficiently creative government attorney could argue that by taking Federal dollars, in any form whatsoever, the Home Depot company opens itself to onerous Federal regulation. True, the GSA audits and paperwork and other Federal regulations are intended for the large volume supplier, but, the Federal government will exercise regulatory control over any company it can, just because it can.

[ravingnutter]

The old specification for fruit cake used to get faxed around for laughs.

As a long time Purchasing Agent and former Small Business Liaison Officer for a Govt. contractor, I remember laughing at some of those specs, including the one for gravy. Way back when, I used to have to look up mil-specs on the microfiche machine. We finally got rid of all of our repair contracts with the close of Kelly AFB and now deal strictly with the R&D side. In recent years, the Air Force tends to look more towards the .coms for off-the-shelf purchases of components, which can also be frustrating as most of them will only accept prepaid orders and we usually operate on N/30 terms. Recovering our money from the AF is a whole other story...

On another note, I tried to send flowers to my mother-in-law at local Army hospital and was turned away by several florists. They said it took their drivers 2 hours to get through security and it was therefore not worth their time to process those orders. That is another consideration most people don't think about.

[packrat01]

Everyone/everything here is related ...

I've heard that about Tennessee.

and Arkansas, and Kentucky, and South Dakota, and ...

[sweetliberty]

Maybe this is overly simplistic, but it seems to me that this is a positive thing and that this business is just taking a stand against the tyranny of the federal government in enforcing such assanine laws as dictated by affirmative action. And what's more, maybe they can see the benefits of excluding certain elements from their workforce by denying subjection to the "diversity" notion of hiring practices....like Muslim extremists for example. Personally, I wish more companies had this kind of guts to tell the feds they've overstepped their bounds.

[Tennessee_Bob]

I've heard that about Tennessee.

Don't forget Texas...

Don't get upset - I'm a native Texan...you're probably a cousin somewhere along the line...

[jraven]

This is outrageous. They MUST be investigated. After all, the federal government is stable in every way. (Q: What does it mean when the flag is half-staff at the Post Office? A: We're hiring.)

[jraven]

This is outrageous. They MUST be investigated. After all, the federal government is stable in every way. (Q: What does it mean when the flag is half-staff at the Post Office? A: We're hiring.)

[ravingnutter]

I was told on good authority the reason for this is that the Feds don't pay the state sales tax and refuse to supply the proper tax forms. The states then hit Home Depot for huge amounts of state tax after the fact and they have no documentation to prove they don't owe it.

That is entirely possible, although legally they can demand the paperwork and charge them sales tax unless they comply. Maybe it is just too much hassle to report them to the Comptroller for non-compliance. I have to complete tax exemption forms all the time for our vendors...my problem is with the cashiers not being trained on how to process them, I always seem to get this blank stare and then have to go through several layers of management to get the purchase approved as tax-exempt.

[Windsong]

"You want to buy our stuff, you send a check like everybody else. If not, go pound sand and stuff your forms."

A great bumper sticker is in the making here.. :)

[JoeGar]

An attorney with the EEOC said: "While Home Depot has a glass ceiling, it traps its female employees in what amounts to a glass basement, with glass walls."

When said, were the lawyer's lips moving?

[My Favorite Headache]

Gordon Gecko likes Blue Horse Shoe

[JoeGar]

Three cheers for Home Depot. It looks as if they object to the government telling them they must discriminate based upon sex, race, and veteran status.

[brianl703]

spoken like a true government worker...

[Lancey Howard]

I can't see a valid reason to shut us out of HD. I can only see being discriminated against because we're part of the Government.

A company the size and scope of Home Depot doesn't make these kind of decisions lightly, capriciously, whimsically, or arbitrarily - - this was a cold, calculated, business decision, possibly a year or more in the making.

My guess is that Home Depot believes that cutting ties to big scumbag government can offer legal protection from the politically correct (scumbag liberal) long arm of big scumbag government.

What's your theory?

[Lancey Howard]

An attorney with the EEOC said: "While Home Depot has a glass ceiling, it traps its female employees in what amounts to a glass basement, with glass walls."

This makes me wonder also if maybe Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton or one of those other Democrat race-hustlers made a move to shake down Home Depot. A large part of the leverage used by scumbags like Jackson is their cozy relationship with Democrat political leaders who can stir up big regulatory and legal trouble for those who don't "play ball".

[packrat01]

Cousin Bob? Is that you?

You don't look anything like Uncle Bubba's brother's son. Must look like yer ma; mustache and all...

[HEY4QDEMS]

I wonder what would become of Home Depot if they adopted a policy not to sell to the NAACP. I WONDER HMMMM

[Tennessee_Bob]

I've got grampa's teeth. He left 'em to me when he died.

[ScoochDude]

Their credit sucks! I catered the National D-Day Memorial Dedication for the White House in July of 2000. They did not pay their invoice until February 2001, after about 90 days, I called the White House everyday, just to get a run around.