I'm posting this in honor of International Women's Day Mar. 8.
Jun. 24, 2022 "Disney, other companies vow to cover employees' out-of-state abortions": Today I found this article by Jenn Bentrit on CBC news:
The Walt Disney Co., publishing giant Conde Nast and the investment firm JPMorgan Chase were among the major American companies that pledged on Friday to cover travel costs for employees seeking out-of-state abortions, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's overturn of Roe v. Wade.
The ruling did away with the constitutional protection of abortion, leaving the matter to individual states, 13 of which were poised to immediately ban the procedure.
Florida, home to Walt Disney World, currently prohibits abortions after 15 weeks. Disney's employee benefits will cover costs for those who need to travel to get health-care, including abortions, a company spokesman said Friday. The company, which recently sparred with state lawmakers over the contentious "Don't say gay" bill, had previously declined to comment on a potential overturn.
Other major media companies — Sony, Paramount, Comcast, Warner Bros. Discovery and Netflix — also said they will reimburse travel expenses for out-of-state abortions.
Airbnb, Dick's Sporting Goods, Patagonia made similar pledges. The Gap, in a statement, noted its employee benefits cover abortion and other family planning services, but did not specify travel expenses.
Top executives at other companies — Meta's outgoing COO Sheryl Sandberg, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian and Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman — condemned the ruling as a step back for women's rights.
"Business leaders must step up to support the health and safety of their employees by speaking out against the wave of abortion bans that will be triggered as a result of this decision, and call on Congress to codify Roe into law," Stoppelman wrote in a statement.
Whitney Wolfe Herd, CEO of the dating app Bumble, said her company will continue supporting reproductive rights by donating to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood. OkCupid encouraged people to contact their elected representatives, in a post on Instagram.
Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Levi Strauss & Co., Lyft, Starbucks and Microsoft have all previously said that they would also cover travel costs for employees seeking out-of-state health-care.
In September, Uber said it would cover legal fees for any drivers sued for dropping people off at abortion clinics. That same month, Salesforce offered to help Texas employees relocate, after that state, together with Mississippi, passed "heartbeat bills," effectively banning early-pregnancy abortions.
Disney, other companies vow to cover employees' out-of-state abortions | CBC News
"Big U.S. employers say they'll pay for abortions after Supreme Court's Roe reversal": Today I found this article by Jeff Green and Matthew Boyle on the Financial Post:
Some of the most recognized companies in the U.S. indicated that they would extend coverage of out-of-state medical care, decisions that will cover more than a million employees after the Supreme Court overturned a half-century-old ruling that protected abortion rights.
Bellwether corporations from the worlds of finance, media, technology and health care said they would bankroll travel for workers who need access to safe, legal abortions and other procedures.
The court’s decision overturned a decades-old precedent that backers say reshaped the modern economy by increasing opportunities for women.
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest bank in the U.S., will pay for its employees to travel to another state if needed to obtain a legal abortion, according to information that was sent to all U.S. employees this month. The benefit will go into effect July 1.
Meta Platforms Inc., the owner of Facebook and Instagram, will reimburse travel expenses, “to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services,” according to a spokesperson. The social-networking giant said it’s assessing how to do that, “given the legal complexities involved.”
Walt Disney Co., which has been mired in disputes with conservative leaders over its support for LGBTQ people, said it will cover the cost of travel for employees who can’t access the care they need in their state. Health-care companies CVS Health Corp. and Biogen Inc. also said that they are making out-of-state medical care including abortion accessible for their employees. CVS had its plans in place prior to Friday’s decision, a spokesman said.
Those big employers joined peers including Microsoft Corp., which reiterated similar plans after the court’s ruling Friday, that have said in recent weeks they would grant such coverage to workers.
The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that enshrined the choice to terminate a pregnancy as a constitutional right, is expected to lead to abortion curbs in more than half of U.S. states, with several already having passed restrictive new laws that would be triggered by the reversal of Roe.
In much the same manner that the decision will create disparities in access to abortion, it isn’t clear that all employers will follow in the footsteps of the larger companies pledging expanded benefits on Friday.
When asked by the consultancy Gartner in late May what new policies they might adopt if Roe was overturned, 60 per cent of human-resources executives said they wouldn’t add anything.
Fewer than 10 per cent said they’d pay for some or all of employees’ travel costs to get to a reproductive-care facility, or provide paid time off for procedures.
Fraught calculus
Offering to pay for care received far from home lets companies show support for abortion rights without taking more extreme steps like relocating workers and offices or altering political donations.
However, the calculus is fraught: While likely to comfort some workers, the approach could open businesses to criticism or retribution from abortion opponents in states that adopt restrictions.
“This is the hottest of hot potatoes,” said Davia Temin, founder of New York crisis consultancy Temin and Co. “Because companies are commenting on social issues more than ever before, the need to do the same around abortion is swirling through corporate America.”
Some high-profile companies had already agreed to cover travel costs and give other support to employees who need to go to a different state for an abortion because of restrictions where they are based. The initiative, spearheaded in March by Citigroup Inc. chief executive Jane Fraser, includes companies such as Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc., Match Group Inc., Tesla Inc. and Yelp Inc.
Support for employee abortion travel has prompted threats from conservative states against some of the companies, particularly Citigroup, one of the largest U.S. banks.
A Texas lawmaker said the bank could face criminal charges under that state’s abortion law, and Republican members of Congress called for the cancellation of U.S. government contracts with Citigroup, which provides the credit cards that members of the U.S. House of Representatives use to pay for flights, supplies and other goods.
Still, the list of companies offering expanded benefits has been growing.
Cigna Corp. will reimburse employees who need to travel for abortion care, a company spokesperson said in an email. The Bloomfield, Connecticut-based health conglomerate has employees in every state and already covers travel for some medical needs.
Cigna said it is expanding that benefit to cover abortion, gender-affirming care and behavioural health care in states that limit access. The company also said it will continue to offer “meaningful options” for health coverage to clients, including travel benefits.
Elsewhere, mobile carrier T-Mobile US Inc. expanded its health coverage for those needing to travel for health care in May, after a draft of the court’s majority opinion was leaked to the press. And Airbnb Inc. on Friday pointed to commitments it made last year “to ensure that our employees have the resources they need to make choices about their reproductive care.”
Quiet adaptation
While many companies went public with changes on Friday, the odds remain that many others will quietly adapt their health-care policies to accommodate abortion changes, but remain mostly silent on the political questions raised by the court’s decision, according to Temin, the independent consultant.
Additionally, while many corporate leaders are largely avoiding making statements on the issue so far, most employees expect them to say or do something, according to Brian Kropp, head of human resources research at Gartner.
Rather than speak out and risk a backlash, companies might let their in-house health-care policies and perks do the talking.
“That has a bigger impact for employees, because it’s a real resource allocation decision you’re making,” Kropp said. “You’re not saying you disagree with the ruling, but you want to support your employees with the health-care needs that they have.”
Big U.S. employers say they'll pay for abortions after Supreme Court's Roe reversal | Financial Post
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