How employees are responding to the overturning of Roe v. Wade

Some local companies have responded to the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade by pledging to pay the travel costs of workers located in states that ban abortions.

• On Friday, for example, Raleigh-based Red Hat said it would reimburse up to $10,000 in travel costs for workers that must leave their home state to access care not available there.
• Of note: Around 14% of large employers surveyed in June said they had a travel benefit in place for employees, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing survey data from Mercer LLC.  Another 25% of larger employers responded they were considering it.

Why it matters: As companies' workforces are increasingly spread out, they are confronting diverging social policies that affect employees differently depending on where they live.

• Google, already building a large presence in downtown Durham, published a letter to employees reiterating the company’s health insurance “covers out-of-state medical procedures that are not available where an employee lives and works” and that employees “can also apply for relocation without justification,”The Verge reported.
• And Apple, which is planning an office in Research Triangle Park, has a campus in Austin, Texas, where abortions are now outlawed. The company's benefits package allows employees to travel out of state for medical care if it is unavailable in their home state, CNN Business reports.