Starbucks, DoorDash, Grubhub and Yelp are offering to cover employees' travel expenses to get abortions and other medical procedures that have been banned in their home states.
The companies announced the policies in the weeks leading up to Friday's Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 Court decision that made abortion a fundamental right in the U.S. Its reversal will trigger abortion bans in 13 states within the next month, with a total of up to 26 statewide bans likely.
Here is what restaurant companies are doing to support employees with limited access to abortion procedures.
Starbucks
The coffee chain in May said it would pay travel expenses for employees to have an abortion or gender-affirming procedure if they are not available within 100 miles. It was the first major restaurant company to provide such a benefit as courts and Republican-led states looked to limit or ban the procedures.
Employees, their dependents or partners enrolled in Starbucks healthcare benefit are eligible for the reimbursement.
DoorDash
The delivery company will cover "certain travel-related expenses" for employees who need to travel out of state for abortion care, a spokesperson said.
"It’s paramount that all DoorDash employees and their dependents covered on our health plans have equitable, timely access to safe healthcare," the person said in a statement.
Grubhub
The delivery company informed employees in an email last week that it would pay for up to $4,000 a year for travel expenses related to a medical procedure not available in their state.
“Grubhub is committed to providing access to safe health care for each and every one of our employees, regardless of where they live,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
It was unclear whether DoorDash's and Grubhub's benefits extended to delivery drivers, who are considered contractors and not employees. The companies had not responded to a question about drivers as of publication time.
Yelp
The business review site in April said it would cover travel expense for employees and their spouses to go out of state for abortion care, expanding an existing health benefit that covers the procedure itself.
The San Francisco-based company made the announcement after Texas banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, but it applies to all of its employees.
On Friday, Yelp CEO Jeremey Stoppelman urged other business leaders to follow suit.
“This ruling puts women's health in jeopardy, denies them their human rights, and threatens to dismantle the progress we’ve made toward gender equality in the workplace since Roe," he said in a statement. “Business leaders must step up to support the health and safety of their employees by speaking out against the wave of abortion bans that will be triggered as a result of this decision, and call on Congress to codify Roe into law.”
Dozens of other companies, including Amazon, Apple and Microsoft, have extended similar benefits to workers as governments have chipped away at abortion rights.
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