Amazon.com, the second-largest U.S. private employer, told its staff on Monday it will pay up to $4,000 in travel expenses annually for non-life threatening medical treatments including abortions, according to a message seen by Reuters.
The decision makes the online retailer the latest company after Citigroup, Yelp and others to respond to Republican-backed state laws curbing abortion access, helping employees bypass them. It shows how companies are eager to retain and attract talent in locations that remain important to their operations despite legal changes impacting employees' health.
The U.S. Supreme Court is due to rule by the end of June in a case that gives its conservative majority a chance to roll back abortion rights or even overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that legalized the procedure nationwide. About two dozen states including Oklahoma and Alabama have laws poised to limit abortion access should the Roe ruling be overturned.
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