The TJX Companies – Reproductive Rights (2023)

Outcome: Successfully withdrawn following the company’s adoption of travel benefits for accessing reproductive care and engaging insurance providers regarding contraceptives.

Companies must navigate a patchwork of state laws with respect to the provision of reproductive health care. In recent decades, states have passed more than 600 laws restricting abortion access, and 12 states now ban most abortions. At the same time, other states have enacted legislation that protects these rights.

TJX Companies, Inc. (“TJX”) has operations in all fifty states, subject to this patchwork of reproductive healthcare laws. With Roe v. Wade overturned, some TJX employees may now face challenges accessing reproductive healthcare, including abortion services, for themselves or their family members.

Employers, as well as employees, can bear cost associated with restricted access to reproductive healthcare. For example, according to one study, women who cannot access abortion are three times more likely to leave the workforce than women who were able to access abortion when needed, and four times as likely to slip into poverty.[1] The Institute for Women’s Policy Research estimates that state-level abortion restrictions may annually keep more than 500,000 women aged 15 to 44 out of the workforce.[2] These factors may harm TJX’s ability to meet the diversity goals with potential negative consequences to performance and reputation.[3]

Companies may find it more difficult to recruit employees to states that have outlawed abortion.[4] According to a 2022 survey commissioned by Lean In, strong majorities of women under 40, regardless of political affiliation, would prefer to work for a company that supports abortion access.[5] In addition, a 2022 Harris Poll found that in the wake of the Dobbs decision, 69 percent of employees aged 18-34 want more clarity and transparency about their organization’s policies and benefits for reproductive healthcare.[6]

Surveys have consistently shown that a majority of Americans wanted to keep the Roe v. Wade framework intact. In a 2021 survey of U.S. consumers, 64 percent said employers should ensure that employees have access to reproductive health care and 42 percent would be more likely to buy from a brand that publicly supports reproductive health care.[7]

RESOLVED:  Shareholders request that TJX issue a public report (omitting confidential/privileged information, in a reasonable time, and at a reasonable expense) detailing any known and any potential risks and costs to the company caused by enacted or proposed state policies severely restricting reproductive rights and detailing any strategies beyond litigation and legal compliance that the company may deploy to minimize or mitigate these risks.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: We recommend the report evaluate any risks and costs to TJX associated with new laws and legislation severely restricting reproductive rights, and similar restrictive laws proposed or enacted in other states. In its discretion, TJX’s analysis may include any effects on employee hiring, retention, and productivity, and decisions regarding closure or expansion of operations in states proposing or enacting restrictive laws and strategies such as any public policy advocacy by the company, related political contributions policies, and human resources or educational strategies.

[1] https://www.ansirh.org/sites/default/files/publications/files/turnaway_study_brief_web.pdf

[2] https://iwpr.org/costs-of-reproductive-health-restrictions/

[3] https://www.tjx.com/responsibility/workplace/inclusion-and-diversity

[4] https://perryundem.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/PerryUndem-TX-Abortion-Law_Survey-Findings_0901.pdf

[5] https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimelsesser/2022/08/02/employees-want-to-work-for-companies-that-support-access-to-abortion-according-to-leaninorg-study/?sh=3cdba96c6a5b

[6] https://www.catalyst.org/research/roe-v-wade-abortion-workplace-survey/

[7] https://greenwaldresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Tara-Health-Foundation-2021-Consumer-Survey-on-Brands-Defending-Reproductive-Health.pdf