How companies have handled restrictive abortion laws.
With Roe v. Wade on the verge of being overturned, according to a draft Supreme Court ruling obtained by Politico on Monday night, business leaders are likely to face greater pressure to address the state of abortion access.
Most companies have refrained from wading into politically charged conversations about abortion. But after Texas enacted a law banning most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy, some companies came under fire for having donated to the lawmakers who sponsored it, while others faced backlash for pledging financial support to Texas-based employees affected by the restrictions.
The dating site Match.com, for example, set up a fund to cover the costs for Texas-based employees seeking abortions out of the state.
“The company generally does not take political stands unless it is relevant to our business,” Shar Dubey, the chief executive of Match Group, which includes Match.com and Tinder, wrote in a memo to employees. “But in this instance, I personally, as a woman in Texas, could not keep silent.”
Yelp, which has just over 200 employees in Texas, announced last month that it would cover expenses for workers traveling out of state for abortions. The company said it would also cover workers in other states affected by “current or future action that restricts access to covered reproductive health care.” Citigroup, which has 8,000 workers in Texas, said it would pay affected employees’ travel costs, and the ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft offered to pay legal fees for drivers sued for taking people to clinics.
Labor lawyers said more company responses might emerge. “The leaked opinion means there’s more time to prepare for what’s now almost certainly coming our way in terms of abortion care and what companies can do to assist employees,” said Austin Kaplan, a Texas-based employment lawyer.
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