JPMorgan Chase will reimburse employee expenses incurred as a result of having to travel out of state in order to get an abortion beginning next month, according to CNBC.
The New York-based financial giant had circulated a memo to employees on June 1 ahead of the Supreme Court’s Friday ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
The memo offers a link to a web page that addresses frequently asked questions, with one of them reading, “Will you pay for an employee to travel to another state to seek an abortion if their state won’t allow them to get one?”
“Yes. Our health care plans have historically covered travel benefits for certain covered services that would require travel,” JPMorgan said. “Beginning in July, we will expand this benefit to include all covered services that can only be obtained far from your home, which would include legal abortion.”
According to the memo, the package of expanded medical benefits also will include “family-building benefits, such as cryopreservation,” as well as enhanced benefits for LGBT+ workers, the Wall Street bank told workers.
The Supreme Court’s decision opens the door for Republican-dominated state legislatures in about half the country to pass laws restricting — or outright banning — abortions.
The court issued its ruling weeks after Politico obtained a leaked draft copy of the decision, which ignited nationwide protests among pro-choice Americans. In recent weeks, blue-chip companies announced that they too would cover expenses for employees who were forced to travel out of state in order to obtain an abortion.
Get The Post’s latest updates following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Wall Street investment giants like Goldman Sachs, coffee chain empire Starbucks, retailer Amazon and clothing manufacturer Levi Strauss pledged support for employees who need to travel out of states like Texas and Oklahoma in order to get abortion services.
In March, Citigroup started covering travel expenses for employees who go out of state for abortions because of newly enacted restrictions in Texas and other places, becoming the first major US bank to make that commitment.
Tesla, Microsoft, Amazon, Apple, and Salesforce are also offering the benefit to workers who cannot gain immediate access to the procedures.
Other companies, meanwhile, have chosen to stay silent on the abortion issue. Walmart, American Airlines, Home Depot, CVS, and dozens of others have avoided commenting.
The Walt Disney Co., though it avoided the topic earlier, told employees in an internal memo Friday that it would cover their out-of-state reproductive care.
Disney angered conservatives nationwide last month after it bowed to pressure from employees and publicly spoke out in opposition to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law banning schools from teaching gender and sexual identity education to kids before fourth grade.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-dominated state legislature responded by stripping Disney of its self-governing status giving it widespread autonomy over its theme parks in and around Orlando.
For all the latest Business News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
