Ms. Jackel stated that the policy was supported by both employees and investors. However, the company declined to confirm if anyone had ever used it. “It makes good business sense,” Ms. Jackel added. “There’s no reason we should be putting our employees in the position of having to choose between keeping their job or carrying out an unwanted pregnancy.”
Warner Brothers claimed it would cover travel expenses for abortions. “In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision, we immediately expanded our health care benefits options to cover transportation expenses for employees and their covered family members who need to travel to access abortion and reproductive care,” said a company representative.
Disney said it would cover travel expenses as well: “We recognize the impact that today’s Supreme Court ruling could have on many Americans,” wrote Paul Richardson, the company’s head of human resources, and Pascale Thomas, a vice president.
A representative for Meta said: “We intend to offer travel expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, for employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services. We are in the process of assessing how best to do so given the legal complexities involved.”
Bank of America said: “We have expanded the list of medical treatments that are eligible for travel expense reimbursement. This list will now includes cancer treatment, organ transplants at centers of excellence, reproductive health care including abortion, and hospital admissions for mental health conditions.”
Intuit stated Friday that it would reimburse employees for travel expenses to have abortions. “We support our employees’ access to comprehensive health care — no matter where they live,” the company said. “We will continue to do what we can to best support employees’ ongoing access to the full range of health care that they believe is right for them.”
Condé Nast said it would cover travel and lodging for employees to get abortions. “It is a crushing blow to reproductive rights that have been protected for nearly half a century,” said Roger Lynch, Condé Nast’s chief executive.
Zillow stated that it would reimburse employees up to $7500 for significant travel required for medical procedures, including abortions. “We strongly support our employees’ right to make health care choices that are right for them, and we will continue to do so,” a Zillow representative said.
Box, which had already said it would cover employee travel expenses for abortions, said it was “disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.”
Salesforce stated that it would relocate employees who are concerned about their ability in Texas to have abortions. “We will continue to offer our longstanding travel and relocation benefits to ensure employees and their families have access to critical health care services,” a representative said.
Patagonia reaffirmed its commitment to covering employee travel expenses for abortions: “Caring for employees extends beyond basic health insurance,” the company said on LinkedIn. “It means supporting employees’ choices around if or when they have a child.”
Dick’s Sporting Goods said it would provide up to $4,000 in travel reimbursement for employees who live in states that restrict abortion access and that the policy would apply to any spouse or dependent covered by the company’s medical plan.
Lyft, which had previously said it would cover travel expenses for abortions, said the Supreme Court’s decision “will hurt millions of women by taking away access to safe, and private reproductive health care services.” It also said it was expanding its “legal defense commitment” to protecting drivers who may be sued for taking people to clinics. “No driver should have to ask a rider where they are going and why,” Lyft said.
Uber emphasized the company’s insurance coverage for “a range of reproductive health benefits, including pregnancy termination” and its commitment to covering travel expenses for employees accessing health care services. “We will also continue to stand behind drivers, reimbursing legal expenses if any driver is sued under state law for providing transportation on our platform to a clinic,” the company said.
BuzzFeed’s chief executive, Jonah Peretti, told staff on Friday that the company would provide stipends for employees who needed to travel for abortions. “The decision is so regressive and horrific for women that it compels us to step up as a company to ensure that any of our employees who are impacted have funding and access to safe abortions as needed,” he said.
Jeremy Stoppelman, Yelp’s co-founder and chief executive, called the decision a threat to gender equality in the workplace. “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,” he said. Yelp had previously pledged to cover travel expenses related to abortion.
H&M said it would cover travel and transportation expenses for employees living in states where abortion is prohibited or restricted: “Not only is supporting access to comprehensive reproductive care for our colleagues pivotal in supporting our women-led work force, but also crucial to our commitment toward full gender parity and equal opportunity in the workplace and broader society,” the clothing company said.
Vox Media announced that it would cover employee travel expenses for abortions and would also expand the coverage of its pregnancy loss leave to include people who have had their abortions. “This ruling will have a disproportionate impact on access to care depending on where people live,” Jim Bankoff, the company’s chief executive, wrote in a memo. “It puts families, communities and the economy at risk, threatening the gains that women have made in the workplace over the past 50 years.”
Adobe, which had previously said its health care policy covered travel expenses for abortions, said: “We have and will always prioritize inclusive benefits to create a world-class culture for our employees.”
Google, which covers travel expenses for employee abortions, told its employees they could also apply to relocate “without justification.”
Starbucks announced earlier this year that it would cover employee travel expenses for abortions, and the company’s senior vice president, Sara Kelly, said in an interview on Friday that employees would be able to access this benefit confidentially. “It doesn’t matter what you believe, it doesn’t matter where you live, it’s about access to health care,” Ms. Kelly said.
Impossible Foods said it would cover travel, lodging, meals and child care for employees who need to travel to get abortions out of state: “Supporting our colleagues in their reproductive health is absolutely the right thing to do,” Peter McGuinness, the chief executive, said on LinkedIn.
Expedia, Accenture and Match Group stated that they would provide travel insurance for employees who need to receive medical care not available locally.
Douglas Elliman said it would expand its health care coverage to reimburse employees who have to travel to get abortions: “Douglas Elliman stands firmly behind women and their reproductive rights,” said company leaders in an email to staff.
Nike said it covered travel and lodging for employees who needed to travel to get health care procedures, including abortions: “No matter where our teammates are on their family planning journey — from contraception and abortion coverage, to pregnancy and family-building support through fertility, surrogacy and adoption benefits — we are here to support their decisions,” the company said.
Nordstrom said it created a new travel benefit for employees who could not get abortions locally: “While we had reason to believe this ruling was coming, we recognize that this news still weighs heavily on many of us,” company leaders wrote in a message to staff.
Open Sea stated that it would cover employee abortion travel. “We are heartbroken, and frustrated, and overwhelmed by the challenge ahead of us,” company leaders said in a message to staff. “We believe that access to safe and legal abortion is absolutely critical to keeping women and those with female assigned reproductive systems healthy and empowered to make their own choices about their future, and to pursue their missions and ambitions.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers said its employees could apply for financial assistance for expenses associated with medical procedures. “I know that some of you will think that I haven’t said enough in this note and that some of you will think that I’ve said too much,” said the firm’s chairman in a message to staff this weekend. “What I hope you take away from it is that I care.”
Wells Fargo told its employees on Monday that the firm would expand its existing travel benefits for medical coverage to include reimbursement for abortion travel “in accordance with applicable law.”
Don’t Ban Equality, a coalition of businesses, said more than 350 companies had signed its letter opposing restrictions on abortion access.
Source: NY Times
