In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization the United States Supreme Court overturned years of precedent started by Roe v. Wade and conferred the right to regulate abortions to individual states. This marked change has obvious implications in social, political, and medical circles. But why does it matter for employers? Patchwork Benefits First, states are already enacting a variety of laws regulating access to abortions. This makes employer benefit compliance challenging, especially for multi-state employers. At least 15 states have enacted partial or total bans on abortions, and legislation continues to develop [Link to Holly’s legislation tracker]. Some of these states also impose liability on people or entities that assist people in obtaining an abortion. Employers will need to carefully consider which state laws apply to their employees, especially when operating in various jurisdictions, to reduce the risk of liability if they choose to offer any abortion services benefits. This may be even more challenging in the remote work environment and in today’s competitive labor market. Discrimination Claims Aside from just administrative challenges, the change in law opens questions for how employment discrimination claims might be handled, especially with respect to pregnancy and religious discrimination. For example, the Pregnancy […]
