Thomas BabychanIn response to US Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Google has sent a letter to all its employees informing them they can apply for relocation without justification.
A letter from Chief People Officer of Google Inc, Fiona Cicconi said that the judgement of the Supreme Court will severely affect everyone, especially women.
The company also informed that people who work at Google and their dependants can make use of insurance plans and their benefits. Out-of-state medical procedures are covered under health insurance for Google employees if such procedures are not available in the state where they reside.
According to the letter available on The Verge, Google informed its staff that they will soon conduct support sessions for employees in the USA. Employees can also arrange 1 on 1 sessions with a People Consultant.
Google reiterated that the tech company will continue to make information regarding reproductive healthcare accessible to everyone through its platforms and services.
This move came as almost half of 50 states in the United States are expected to ratify laws which make the practice of abortion illegal. States had a legal problem in ratifying such laws before, as the decision in the Roe v. Wade case upheld the concept of how the constitution of the United States safeguards a pregnant woman’s right to abortion.
Nicolas Lopez, a spokesperson of Google, informed the media that there has been no change in policies of Google regarding the relocation or healthcare of its employees. The letter from CPO to staff was only a reminder to employees about what all options they have in light of the new ruling.
Google is not the first company to react to a landmark supreme court judgement in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Several companies such as Meta, JPMorgan Chase, Uber, Lyft and many more have released statements about how they plan to assist their employees who will be affected by the judgement.
According to a memo from JPMorgan Chase accessed by media outlets, the corporation will start paying for travel expenses from next month onwards. Employees who need to get an abortion but cannot legally do it in the state where they reside can travel to another state and get the procedure done. The company will bear the travelling expenses.
CEO of DICK’s Sports Goods also announced that the company will give up to 4000 dollars as travel reimbursement to those who want to travel to another state to get medical procedures done which is illegal in their states