ERIN ELMORE: Indeed paying transgender employees $10,000 to move to blue states
Online job recruiting company Indeed is now offering transgender-identifying employees $10,000 to relocate to states where they can receive "gender-affirming care."
Indeed is now offering transgender-identifying employees $10,000 to relocate to a state where they or their immediate family can receive “gender-affirming care.”
According to Axios, the online job recruiting company launched the program in July 2023, and is open to all U.S.-based employees who “live in a location where state laws or government-issued directives criminalize or restrict access to such medical care.” Currently, several state laws ban so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors, preventing medical providers from prescribing puberty blockers or hormone replacement therapy to children under 18. State legislators have expressed concern that children cannot consent to the permanent side effects, like sterility, before 18 years of age.
Image: William Murphy/ Flickr
Indeed told Axios that eligible employees will receive approval to relocate and a $10,000 “flat-rate benefit to support their relocation expenses.”
“Our transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming colleagues are integral to our business and culture at Indeed,” Misty Gaither, vice president of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging at Indeed said. “We know employees thrive and do their best work when they can bring their authentic selves to work.”
“We also believe that everyone has the right to make the healthcare decisions that they feel are right for themselves and their families,” she added.
Other large companies have also implemented their own policies concerning transgender employees. Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, has created its own relocation benefit program for transgender-identifying employees or employees with transgender family members. The company also adheres to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines in determining employee health coverage.
Indeed also offers a specialized search for companies that “Take pride in you” for members of the LGBTQ+ community and “allies.”
Coffee chain Starbucks offers healthcare coverage for transgender-identifying employees that covers hormone replacement therapy, gender reassignment surgeries, as well as cosmetic procedures not traditionally covered by health insurance.
Axios also notes that Netflix’s employee health insurance covers hormone replacement therapy as well as gender reassignment surgeries.
Most large corporations have made progressive policy changes such as providing travel stipends to female employees traveling out of state to receive an abortion and providing various benefits to employees who identify as LGBTQ+.
