A San Francisco-based public relations agency announced Thursday it will pay for any of its employees to move out of Texas to "ensure they have control of their reproductive health."
Bospar, a self described "politely pushy tech PR agency," issued the program in response to the highly scrutinized abortion law passed last week in the Lone Star State, which bans abortions after six weeks - before most women even know they're pregnant. According to the New York Times, Texas abortion providers said 85% to 90% of their procedures were performed after the six weeks mark.
Under the new program, called the Texas Relocation Plan, Bospar will pay moving expenses for any staff member that wants to leave the state. The company also said it will expand the policy to other states if they were to pass similarly restrictive bans.
The agency currently has six employees based in Texas, however they have the flexibility to work anywhere since the operations are completely remote.
"Companies and businesses with employees in Texas have a choice right now: offer employees control of their own reproductive health or risk them leaving," Sarah Freeman, a Bospar senior account executive based in Austin, said. "Right now, my friends in their 20s and 30s are asking themselves, ‘Should I leave Texas?’ Since Bospar pioneered the virtual work-from-home model at a national level in 2015, relocating and staying with my company is no problem. Now that the agency is offering to pay for relocation, that makes the decision process that much easier."
While they are disappointed that only a few organizations have taken such a step so far, the company said it hopes their actions lead others to implement similar policies. Uber and Lyft announced Friday they will cover the legal fees for any driver sued under the new law, while the city of Portland threatened to boycott all products and services from the state.
"As a company that wants to maintain and attract the best talent, Bospar believes this relocation program – or evacuation program – makes good business sense," Bospar Principal Curtis Sparrer told KPIX. "We predict other companies will take similar action to retain the best talent until Texas reverses this self-inflicted brain drain."
Bospar, founded in 2015 and headquartered in San Francisco, has represented high profile companies like PayPal, Dolby and Healthline, and won a variety of awards for its public relations work.
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