This year's Election Day resulted in a strengthening of abortion rights in several states, five months after the Supreme Court's ruling in June left it up to each state to prohibit abortion or keep it legal.
In a June 24 decision, the Supreme Court reversed the precedent that had been set in Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to abortion throughout the country for 49 years.
Abortion access or restriction affects HR's ability to offer and manage health benefits, paid and unpaid leave, recruiting, and retention.
Following the Supreme Court ruling, some employers changed employee benefits and leave policies. While several employers enhanced abortion coverage under their group health plans, others provided benefits outside the health plan, for instance by creating a relief fund to pay expenses for employees and dependents who need to travel to another state or making funds available through a health reimbursement arrangement. Others offered a one-time bonus for travel and procedure costs in a state permitting abortions.
Attorneys at national law firm Ropes and Gray wrote that "some employers have contemplated administering travel reimbursements outside of their health plan and treating such reimbursements as taxable income to the employee."
They cautioned that "while the seeming simplicity of such an approach may make it appear attractive, it is not without its risks, [such as] the need to respect the right of an employee to keep her health care decisions private against...
New Delhi: Ahead of the West Bengal Assembly elections, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while addressing a rally, stated that Mahatma Gandhi had returned his knighthood in protest agai...