ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Emily M. Dickens, chief of staff and head of government affairs at SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management), released the following statement and survey results after the Supreme Court issued its decision overturning the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey decisions:
"The majority opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization will have an impact on the world of work. SHRM has mobilized to keep HR professionals and business leaders informed about the law, provide tools and resources to be compliant and offer the latest thinking on how to ensure employees have access to quality health care. Without having an opinion on whether abortion is right or wrong, we will continue to provide up-to-date resources so that employers are able to navigate the evolving landscape of health benefits.
"Employers will need to continue following local, state and federal laws and regulations regarding abortion. Self-insured companies are subject to ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act, rather than state law. This provides broader flexibility in structuring health benefits. Some companies are announcing preemptive action to ensure workers have access to abortion services by increasing travel benefits to cover health care procedures. For example, new SHRM research shows that nearly a quarter of organizations agree that offering a health savings account to cover travel for reproductive care in another state will enhance their ability to compete for talent. But how these policies interact with state laws is unclear, and employers should be aware of the legal risks involved."
Here are other key findings from the new SHRM research:
- Over a third of organizations (35 percent) would not be more likely to provide travel expense benefits outside of a health savings account (HSA) for employees to access reproductive services if it was tax deductible.
- Knowing that employees can use HSA funds for travel-related expenses to receive reproductive care in another state, most organizations (87 percent) still would not make any changes to the contributions they make to employees' HSAs.
- Paid time off was named the top resource currently provided to employees to better support reproductive care (32 percent).
- 29 percent of organizations said they would increase support within an employee assistance program for reproductive care in a post-Roe and Casey world.
- 14 percent of organizations said they would include the topic of reproductive rights in their DE&I program.
Resources for navigating the Dobbs ruling in the workplace are available at SHRM.org.
About SHRM
SHRM, the Society for Human Resource Management, creates better workplaces where employers and employees thrive together. As the voice of all things work, workers and the workplace, SHRM is the foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today's evolving workplaces. More than 95% of Fortune 500 companies rely on SHRM to be their go-to resource for all things work and their business partner in creating next-generation workplaces. With 300,000+ HR and business executive members in 165 countries, SHRM impacts the lives of more than 115 million workers and families globally. Learn more at SHRM.org and on Twitter @SHRM.