Texas, a state that's been objectively purpling over the past few years, recently enacted one of the most aggressive anti-abortion laws seen in the United States since Roe v. Wade. But Salesforce employees who work in the state will have their employer's help in relocating, should they wish.
Texas’ Senate Bill 8 became law in May; it went into effect earlier this month. Per the law, health professionals aren't allowed to perform or induce abortions if they have “detected a fetal heartbeat for the unborn child" — which generally can be observed 5 to 6 weeks after the first day of a woman's last menstrual period. The result of a doctor breaking this law? $100,000 in fines, should they perform abortions under the ban, barring a medical emergency. (The fate for those seeking those illegal abortions is similarly severe, as well.)
California PR firm will pay for its six Texas employees to relocate following abortion law https://t.co/oU8LX3eumh
— Dallas Morning News (@dallasnews) September 12, 2021
But for Salesforce employees who work in the state, the company is set to offer an olive branch to help them get out of Dodge.
Per a Slack message obtained by CNBC, the tech company didn’t explicitly mention any specific state in a message that was sent to thousands of employees Friday. That said: CEO Marc Benioff, however, clarified the company's stance before the weekend, tweeting “Ohana if you want to move we’ll help you exit TX. Your choice” — simultaneously linking to the CNBC report in his remarks.
Ohana if you want to move we’ll help you exit TX. Your choice.❤️https://t.co/y5IKpm5fNs
— Marc Benioff (@Benioff) September 11, 2021
“These are incredibly personal issues that directly impact many of us — especially women,” Salesforce told employees in the Slack message, which CNBC obtained. “We recognize and respect that we all have deeply held and different perspectives. As a company, we stand with all of our women at Salesforce and everywhere.”
The note continues: “With that being said, if you have concerns about access to reproductive healthcare in your state, Salesforce will help relocate you and members of your immediate family.”
A report from The Verge highlighted that this movement to help affected employees and their families navigate the anti-abortion law in Texas was an incredibly uncommon moment of solidarity between otherwise rival companies. Both Lyft and Uber said last week they would completely cover legal fees for any of its drivers sued under the Texas law. Match Group — the dating app juggernaut that owns Bumble and Tinder — announced it had created a relief fund for women seeking abortions.
CNBC also noted that Benioff has canceled programs that required customers and employees to travel to the state. The U.S. Justice Department, too, is now seeking an injunction to prevent enforcement of the Texas law, describing Texas' abortion law infringes on a settled constitutional law, which ‘a state may not prohibit any woman from making the ultimate decision to terminate her pregnancy before viability."
Photo: The Salesforce logo is seen at its headquarters on December 1, 2020 in San Francisco, California. The cloud-based enterprise software company announced on Tuesday that it will purchase the popular workplace-chat app Slack for $27.7 billion. (Photo by Stephen Lam/Getty Images)