Elon Musk’s automotive and clean energy company Tesla to cover travel and living expenses for its employees seeking out-of-state medical care including abortion.
According to the company’s 2021 impact report released on Friday, since 2021, “an expanded Safety Net program and health insurance offering that includes travel and lodging support for those who may need to seek healthcare services that are unavailable in their home state.”
Last year, Tesla moved its headquarters from Palo Alto, California to Austin, Texas which has a strict abortion law.
Texas passed a “heartbeat” law that will effectively outlaw abortions in the state after 6 weeks and gives any citizen – including those outside Texas – the right to take legal action against anyone who ‘aids and abets’ the termination of a pregnancy after the cut-off point.
Aside from Tesla, other companies also offered to help red-state employees seeking abortions.
Axios reported:
Multiple companies have suggested they’ll pay for travel expenses if employees have to receive health care services in another state.
Levi Strauss & Co. said in a statement that employees will be reimbursed for travel expenses for receiving health care services outside their state, including abortions.
- “We know this is a fraught conversation; it’s not something we enter into lightly. But women make up 58% of our global workforce, and in recent years, numerous employees have expressed to leadership their growing alarm over the rollback of all forms of reproductive care,” the company said.
- “Our position on this is in keeping with our efforts to support employees and family members at all stages of their lives.”
Apple said it would cover medical expenses for employees in Texas who have to travel outside of the state for abortions, per the Washington Post.
Salesforce said it is willing to relocate workers from Texas due to the state’s new abortion law, CNBC reports.
Amazon said it would cover up to $4,000 in travel for United States workers who are seeking medical treatments, including abortions, per Reuters.
Uber and Lyft both pledged to cover any legal fees in case their drivers are sued because of Oklahoma’s new abortion bill, which allows citizens to sue anyone they suspect has helped someone receive an abortion.
Citigroup will cover travel expenses for employees who are forced to travel outside their state for abortions, MarketWatch reports.
- “In response to changes in reproductive health care laws in certain states in the U.S., beginning in 2022 we provide travel benefits to facilitate access to adequate resources,” the company said in a filing back in April.
Yelp said it would offer assistance through the company’s insurance plan for employees and their dependents if they need to travel out of state for an abortion, the Wall Street Journal reports.
