With the passage of controversial legislation concerning abortion and the LGBTIQ+ community, business travel is becoming even more complex. Businesses looking to send employees cross-country to conferences and assignments may find their plans interrupted.
Abortion bans and “heartbeat” bills passed in a number of states, such as Alabama, Georgia, and Missouri, make it difficult for businesses to ensure the health of their employees. Companies may be legally and ethically barred from sending employees to states with such laws in place.
At the same time, a number of states are introducing laws that criminalize those in the LGBTQ+ community, forbidding people from acting on their true gender identity. This makes it difficult to fairly assess the risk of traveling certain areas if an employee is part of the LGBTQ+ community.
In addition to the logistical problems posed by such restrictive laws, sending employees into hostile environments may damage a company’s reputation, affect its relations with its customers, put employees at risk of personal harm, and create an ethical dilemma for managers.
Given the complexity of the issue, businesses should have a clear policy on travel to such states. The policy should ensure that the company is not sending employees into hostile, dangerous, or legally-complicated environments. It should also be pro-active in monitoring the changing landscape of various laws in different states, enabling the company to better prepare itself.
In a world increasingly dominated by technology, business travel is still a critical part of many companies, and they should take all steps necessary to ensure their employees’ safety and wellbeing. The legality of abortion bans and anti-LGBTQ+ laws are making business travel a difficult proposition, so companies need to be aware of the risks in order to protect their employees and their reputation.
