The companies are in the hot seat after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade Friday.
At least 26 states are certain or likely to ban abortion as a result of the ruling, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute, a research group that supports abortion rights.
Before Friday, many companies avoided taking a stance on abortion rights even as states like Texas and Oklahoma passed laws that severely restricted abortion access and a leaked bill decision was published.
A handful of companies, including Match Inc., Bumble, Amazon, Citigroup, Salesforce, Tesla, Lyft, Yelp and JPMorgan, have started covering travel expenses employees may incur to get abortions if they don’t have not have access to safe procedures in their State of origin before the official publication of the decision.
After:Anti-abortion and abortion rights protesters react to Roe v. Wade reversal
After:What is mifepristone, the abortion pill? What to know after the Supreme Court overturned Roe
“Consumers and employees don’t want companies to ‘take a stand’ unless companies take a stand and make their case,” said Kim Whitler, professor of business administration at the Darden School of Business in the University of Virginia. “Therefore, choosing a side on a divisive issue then becomes a mathematical problem for business.”
But the decision forces some companies to break their silence on the issue. Here is what they say:
Alaska Airlines/HorizonAir
The airline, which employs more than 23,000 people, said in a memo to employees that it will continue to “reimburse travel for certain medical procedures and treatments if they are not available where you live. The decision to today’s Supreme Court does not change that.”
Condé Nast
Condé Nast CEO Roger Lynch said in a memo to employees that the Supreme Court’s decision is “a blow to reproductive rights that have been protected for nearly half a century.”
He announced that employees “are now eligible for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses” for abortion procedures as well as infertility or gender affirmation services.
Dick Sporting Goods
The company, which employs more than 50,000 people, said it will “provide up to $4,000 in travel reimbursement to travel to the nearest location where such care is legally available,” wrote Dick CEO Lauren Hobart in a LinkedIn post. “This benefit will be provided to any teammate, spouse or dependent enrolled in our medical plan, as well as a support person,” she added.
Goldman Sachs
The bank said it would cover abortion-related travel costs in a memo Business Insider obtained and sent to employees on Friday. The memo does not specify whether there is a cap on the amount he will reimburse.
The policy change will take effect on July 1.
Kroger
The nation’s largest supermarket chain has announced that it will reimburse up to $4,000 for travel expenses incurred to have abortions for employees covered by the company’s health insurance plan.
Meta
“We intend to provide travel expense reimbursements, to the extent permitted by law, to employees who will need them to access out-of-state health care and reproductive services,” a a Meta spokesperson told USA TODAY on Friday. “We are in the process of evaluating the best way to do this given the legal complexities involved.”
The spokesperson did not return a request for further comment on whether this was communicated directly to employees.
After:Michelle Obama Says She’s Heartbroken Over SCOTUS Cancellation of Roe vs. Wade
After:State abortion bans, the new norm? A woman’s 17-hour journey to get an abortion.
Microsoft
Microsoft, which employs more than 103,000 people in the United States, said it “will continue to do everything we can under the law to help our employees and their enrolled dependents access essential health care. – which already include services such as abortion and gender affirmation care”. – regardless of where they live in the United States”
“This assistance has been expanded to include travel expense assistance for this and other legal medical care,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in an emailed statement Friday to USA TODAY.
South West Airlines
Southwest said it “will work to meet the needs of our peoples while remaining compliant with state and federal laws as an employer.”
Employees could already travel for free on the airline and were not asked to provide a reason for their trip, Chris Mainz, a Southwest spokesperson told USA TODAY in an emailed statement. But the airline “is not making any immediate changes to our health benefits”.
ICT Tac
In a tweet posted late Friday afternoon, TikTok said it was “finalizing updates to our benefits to continue providing our employees with access to the medical benefits they need.”
waltz disney
“We remain committed to providing full access to quality and affordable care for all of our employees, cast members and their families, including family planning and reproductive care, wherever they live,” said Friday. a Disney spokesperson told USA TODAY.
An internal memo sent to employees obtained by CNBC added that “we have processes in place so that an employee who may not be able to access care at one location has affordable coverage to receive levels similar care elsewhere”.
United Airlines
United told employees in a memo on Friday that its “medical plans have long provided access to reproductive health care.”
United employees can also travel for free with the airline.
After:Protests erupt outside Supreme Court after abortion rights ruling
After:Texas doctor refuses to give up her fight to help women access safe and legal abortions
Zillow
Zillow said Friday it updated its health plan “to reimburse up to $7,500 each time significant travel is required to access health care” on June 1. “Going forward, we will continue to ensure that our coverage includes safe access to reproductive health care,” Zillow said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Companies that have not announced new policies related to abortion
American Airlines, Charles Schwab, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways, Oracle, Spirit Airlines and Walmart did not immediately respond to USA TODAY’s requests for comment on whether they would cover abortion-related travel costs.
They are among the overwhelming majority of companies that have not taken a public stance on abortions.
Elisabeth Buchwald is personal finance and markets correspondent for USA TODAY. You can FFollow her on Twitter @BuchElisabeth and sign up for our Daily Money newsletter here
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