As states prepare to restrict access to abortion following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade, major tech companies are planning for how the ruling will affect their workforces.
Though a lot of companies have so far remained silent on the issue, a handful of tech giants have spoken up, offering statements of support for those affected and bolstering their travel benefits for people seeking abortion care that need to travel outside of states where it will almost certainly be banned once the ruling is overturned.
Here’s a breakdown of which companies have spoken up, what they’re offering and a few notable omissions.
Microsoft
Microsoft announced Monday that it is expanding its abortion and gender-affirming care services for U.S. employees to now cover travel costs and medical assistance “where access to care is limited in availability in an employee's home geographic region,” Reuters reported.
Microsoft told Reuters that it will "continue to do everything we can under the law to protect our employees' rights and support employees."
Amazon
Just before the draft Supreme Court opinion leaked, Amazon announced it would offer a $4,000 benefit for its more than 1 million employees to travel for out-of-state health care — including abortions. Given that Amazon is the second-largest employer in the U.S., the benefit could have a greater impact on individual lives than any other provided by a company.
That said, Amazon’s benefit does leave out a significant part of its workforce: Hundreds of thousands of contractors and part-time employees aren’t eligible.
Yelp
Yelp announced on April 12 that it would be covering travel costs for employees seeking health care out of their home state, making it one of the first companies to do so. Yelp’s Chief Diversity Officer Miriam Warren told Reuters: “In order to safeguard employees and make sure that they can get the health care that they need, no matter what state they live in, we need a benefit like this.”
Apple
Apple first announced an abortion benefit for employees living in Texas in September following that state’s passage of a ban on abortions after six weeks. Tim Cook said in a meeting with 160,000 employees, a recording of which was obtained by the New York Times, that medical insurance would help cover costs incurred by those who needed to travel out of Texas to receive care. An internal memo later clarified that the benefit applies to any employees that need to “travel out-of-state for medical care if it is unavailable in their home state.”
Tesla
Tesla, which is headquartered in Austin, Texas, made public on May 6 that it has had a policy in place since 2021 that covers travel and lodging costs for employees who need to travel to access health care. The policy was detailed in the company’s 2021 Impact Report, though it doesn’t mention the word “abortion,” instead saying its benefit covers those that “seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”
DoorDash
DoorDash confirmed in an email to Protocol that it would cover travel-related expenses for employees and dependents enrolled in DoorDash’s health care plans who have to travel out of state for abortion-related care. The company’s health care plans also cover reproductive care, including abortions. This benefit does not cover DoorDash’s independent contractors, which include its delivery drivers. The benefit was first announced on May 6 and will be rolled out in the coming weeks. Employees will also be able to backdate their submitted coverage costs if need be.
“It’s paramount that all DoorDash employees and their dependents covered on our health plans have equitable, timely access to safe healthcare,” DoorDash said in a statement.
Lyft
Following Oklahoma preparing to outlaw abortion in a ban similar to Texas’, Lyft announced plans to work with health care providers to launch a program which would cover costs of transportation to airports and clinics for employees in Oklahoma and Texas seeking care. Lyft’s U.S. medical benefits also include coverage for elective abortion. Lyft has yet to comment on whether or not this benefit would apply to employees in states with trigger laws banning and limiting abortion other than Oklahoma and Texas.
Along with covering employee travel costs, Lyft will cover legal fees for drivers who may be sued under the Oklahoma or Texas laws for driving passengers to obtain abortions.
Salesforce
Salesforce gives its employees and their families assistance with relocation if they need to seek reproductive care out of their home state. Like Apple, Salesforce implemented this benefit in September following the Texas abortion law.
Match Group and Bumble
Bumble and parent company Match Group each set up funds to support people seeking abortions outside of Texas when that state enacted its restrictive abortion law. It’s unclear if these funds will be expanded to other states affected by the trigger laws when Roe v. Wade is overturned.
Bumble released a statement on May 3 stating that the company “will continue to fight for the rights and protections of women all over the world. The health and safety of our team is our utmost priority and that includes covering access to abortion care. We will continue to partner with organizations that work to provide reproductive access to all.”
Alphabet-owned Google has a policy which allows employees to expense abortion-related travel, a company spokesperson confirmed to Protocol. The policy was implemented prior to the SCOTUS draft opinion being leaked, amid several states considering abortion bans and restrictions, the spokesperson said.
Netflix
Netflix offers a travel reimbursement benefit for U.S.-based employees and dependents that covers travel costs for abortion, as well as cancer treatment, transplants and gender affirming care, through its U.S. health plans. The reimbursement is a $10,000 allowance per employee and their dependents per service.
Who hasn’t spoken up?
There are a few notable companies that haven't announced what employee resources they plan to offer should the end of Roe v. Wade trigger abortion bans in states where they operate (at least 30 tech companies call these states home). Employee benefits consultant Jessica Du Bois told Protocol that it’s likely only large companies will speak out, as mid-sized and small companies are more wary of the legal risks. But Meta has yet to publicly announce its move.
Similar to Lyft, Uber also said in late April that it would cover legal fees for drivers sued under the Texas or Oklahoma laws, but hasn’t said whether or not it’ll provide benefits for employees seeking abortions.
Though Meta didn’t comment publicly, Sheryl Sandberg on her personal Facebook account vocally opposed the Supreme Court draft ruling, saying: “Few things are more important to women’s health and equality.”This story has been updated to include Google and Netflix's policies.
