Whether driven by political ideology, workforce demands, or other considerations, many employers will want to offer support in light of the Dobbs decision, and many employees may also wish to engage with their employers or co-workers regarding the effects of this momentous decision. These will not be easy conversations. But employers may wish to handle these sensitive discussions similar to how many companies have handled social justice issues over the past few years: by encouraging civility and thoughtful discourse among employees and offering resources to employees who are struggling. Employers should also be mindful that employees speaking out about issues that concern the workplace, such as employee benefits, may have speech protections under the National Labor Relations Act or other similar state laws.
The wide-ranging impact of the Supreme Court's decision on the workplace "cannot be overstated, and the landscape here is changing swiftly," Arnold and Carter added. Employers must now deal with a multitude of state laws depending on the jurisdictions in which they operate that may alternately enshrine or criminalize employees' reproductive health decisions, they said. The ruling will affect employee health care benefits and reimbursement policies, employee privacy, political expression in the workplace, the discrimination law landscape, and employer/employee relations, Arnold and Carter added. They asked, "Will employees be expected to share incredibly private information regarding their abortion-related decision-making with their employer" in order to access abortion-related travel benefits?
