NEW YORK, June 26 — A growing number of large US companies have said they will cover travel costs for employees who must leave their home states to get abortions, but these new policies could expose businesses to lawsuits and even potential criminal liability, legal experts said.
Companies including health insurer Cigna Corp, Paypal Holdings Inc, Alaska Airlines Inc and Dick's Sporting Goods Inc also announced reimbursement policies on Friday. Companies will have to navigate that patchwork of state laws and are likely to draw the ire of anti-abortion groups and Republican-led states if they adopt policies supportive of employees having abortions.
"If you can sue me as a person for carrying your daughter across state lines, you can sue Amazon for paying for it," Wilson said. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 prohibits states from adopting requirements that"relate to" employer-sponsored health plans. Courts have for decades interpreted that language to bar state laws that dictate what health plans can and cannot cover.
Johnson said reimbursements for other kinds of medical-related travel, such as visits to hospitals designated"centers of excellence," are already common even though policies related to abortion are still relatively rare.