New poll finds more employers offering travel / lodging benefits
©fizkes - stock.adobe.com
In a poll taken during a webinar on July 28, we asked employers about travel and lodging benefits for employees in states restricting access to abortion-related services. While the largest portion of the respondents, 43%, are still considering whether or not they will make any changes in response to the Dobbs decision, 11% currently reimburse employees for travel/lodging expenses for out-of-state abortion-related services and an additional 21% have plans to do so. Just 17% say they are not currently considering making any changes (7% don’t have employees in states with restrictions or likely to impose them).
Comparing these results to a poll taken during a webinar on June 30 that asked the same question, it would appear that employers are beginning to act on plans to implement a travel/lodging benefit. The percentage saying they now reimburse expenses, while still small, essentially doubled in a month, from 5% to 11%, while percentage of those with plans to do so dipped slightly (from 23% to 21%), as did the percentage still considering their options (from 48% to 43%).
| July 28 n = 298 |
June 30 n = 1,203 |
|
| Currently reimburse expenses for travel / lodging for out-of-state abortion-related services | 11% | 5% |
| Plan to offer travel / lodging reimbursement (or other support) to assist employees with access to out-of-state abortion-related services | 21% | 23% |
| Considering options | 43% | 48% |
| Not currently considering making any changes | 17% | 19% |
| NA -- do not have employees in states restricting access or likely to restrict access | 7% | 6% |
Given the many factors a company may need to weigh when deciding if and how to respond to Dobbs – including culture, goals, mission, industry, workforce composition, and current benefit design – it’s not surprising that many are still considering their options. For a discussion of travel and lodging benefit considerations, please see our earlier post. Before making any abortion-related changes to your benefit plans, consult with your legal counsel to consider the impact of state abortion laws and regulations.
Note: The June 30 webinar had a significantly more attendees (and thus more poll respondents) than the July 28 webinar. Differences in the mix of employers responding to the poll, particularly differences in size, can affect the results. While we did not collect employer size on the webinar polls, an earlier survey found that the largest employers are the most likely to consider a reimbursement benefit.