Why Google Is Urging Some Of Its Workers To Relocate
Google is actively urging some of its workers to relocate following a harrowing change made to one US law.
Google issued a company-wide email after Roe v. Wade was overturned this past Friday. The tech corporation’s chief people officer, Fiona Cicconi, emailed all staff about applying for “relocation without justification” due to the anti-abortion trigger laws in certain US states. Cicconi added in the message that Google’s medical coverage covers all procedures regardless of which states the procedures are legal in. This gives necessary aid to those who need vital pregnancy care in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s sudden dissolution.
For those waking up this past Friday, the United States became an entirely different democracy. Legal abortion was protected since Roe v. Wade’s initial hearing in the 1970s and helped give many the integral healthcare they needed without dangerous alternatives. For years, conservatives attempted to overturn this ruling, resulting in this past weekend’s repeal. Many companies are taking the initiative to ensure their employees can continue having access to safe abortions. Google is one of those companies providing options for their staff who might need this type of healthcare, especially for those who live in states that will soon outlaw abortions.
“This is a profound change for the country,” Cicconi stated in her company-wide email. She remarked that any way staff wanted to process the outcome would be valid under Google, whether that was needing time away from the company or engaging in conversation. The court decision’s overturning leaves many women and others who can get pregnant extremely vulnerable, obfuscating the states and cities where people will have access to necessary healthcare. Cicconi’s email revolving around relocation is one of the few steps companies can take to ensure that their employees will continue to receive the healthcare they need, no matter where they are currently situated.
Though Roe v. Wade’s overturning has relinquished the federal power to the whim of the states, only five have outlawed abortion entirely. Certain states, like Texas, had trigger laws put into place that was initiated when the 1973 ruling was dissolved. For other states, anti-abortion legislation may prop up in the upcoming weeks or months. 28 states in the country will likely ban or restrict abortion by the end of the summer, which leaves a vast number of the population extremely vulnerable. Google’s decision to allow its employees to relocate is a supportive move that prioritizes those marginalized by the ruling’s repeal. Other workplaces, politicians, and community leaders must continue being vigilant and providing helpful options for their employees, constituents, and neighbors in dire need of accessible pregnancy care.
Though not having safe abortions before the 1970s was incredibly heinous and dangerous, many online critiqued the new landscape of tech and surveillance as an added layer to the Roe v. Wade anxiety. Since many tech companies, including Meta, Google, and Twitter, sell your data to third-party marketplaces, the apps and websites one uses could ultimately incriminate you. Infographics about period trackers have circulated the internet widely, encouraging people to eliminate those applications. If a person receives an abortion in a banned state, info logged and taken from period-tracking apps could be used to implicate and arrest individuals.
