Chris Lieberman, FISM News
Amazon told employees on Monday that it will reimburse up to $4000 in travel expenses for employees seeking non-life-threatening medical treatment, including elective abortion.
In a company-wide message first reported by Reuters, Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer, told workers that it will cover up to $4000 annually for treatment that is not available within a 100-mile radius of the worker’s home when virtual care is not possible. The new policy applies to Amazon employees, both in their corporate offices and warehouses, and their dependents covered under either of the two health insurance plans the company offers.
Amazon said that they will offer reimbursement not only for abortion, but treatments such as cardiology, cellular gene therapy, and substance abuse disorder services. Transgender care is also included in this policy. In addition, employees seeking treatment for life-threatening conditions are eligible to receive up to $10,000 in coverage. The policy is retroactive to January 1 of this year.
The move comes the same day that Politico reported a leaked draft opinion from the Supreme Court that seems to indicate the court’s intention to overturn Roe v. Wade, enabling states to place greater restrictions on abortions. In anticipation of the court’s ruling, which is expected by late June, several companies, including Citigroup, Uber, Lyft, Yelp, Apple, HP, and Levi’s, have announced various policies offering to pay travel expenses and legal fees for employees who will be unable to obtain abortions in their home state. Amazon is the largest company to date to announce such a policy.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki declined to comment on Amazon’s new policy but took the opportunity to slam what she described as the “archaic” new abortion laws being passed in Republican-led states, including most recently in Oklahoma.
The new policy was not the only change for Amazon employees. The company also announced on Monday that they will no longer be offering paid sick leave for employees with Covid-19, instead giving workers five days of excused unpaid time off for a positive test result. In addition, the company will no longer excuse time off while waiting for a Covid-19 test result, ended $40 bonuses for each vaccine dose an employee receives, and will no longer require employees to wear masks except where required by law.
Amazon hopes that its new policy will offset any frustrations over the new Covid policy as well as stem the growing talks of unionizing among Amazon employees. Last month, employees in Amazon’s JFK8 warehouse in New York voted to join the Amazon Labor Union (ALU). On Monday, a second warehouse in New York voted against joining the ALU. The ALU says it is fighting for better wages, work conditions, and job security for Amazon employees, while the company claims that it offers comprehensive benefits and pay that is double the federal minimum wage.