Am I the only one concerned about Tesla's choice to move to Austin, Texas?
Texas does not provide adequate healthcare for its people, as abortion is banned after the sixth week. I would not be comfortable living in such a state, and I'm sure many other people share my perspective. This could prevent Tesla from getting the best talent, which is unfortunate.
Hopefully Tesla's move will bring in more responsible people that respects women rights and can change the legislature. Until then, I think Tesla has a responsibility to speak up about the law, and ensure their employees have access to adequate healthcare
I've only lived in WA and CA and have visited Texas for a few days.
Setting aside the abortion issue, I'm a bit confused by "Texas does not provide adequate healthcare for its people" and "ensure their employees have access to adequate healthcare". I work full time and don't have my healthcare provided by my state. Many (most?) full time workers in the US get their health insurance via their employer, esp. if it's a large company.
I would guess that all Tesla full time employees in Texas will receive or get the choice of health insurance provided by Tesla.
I worked for a very large company in the US for over a decade and we had excellent health insurance. When I left, I had to pay thru the nose for insurance thru the same provider via COBRA (
Continuation of Health Coverage (COBRA) | U.S. Department of Labor). After that ran out, I had to pay thru the nose for private insurance that was pretty lousy.
My current employer offers a couple plans and it's so-so. If you opt out, you can get some extra $ on your paycheck but it's capped (isn't the full amount of the cost of the insurance). Doing that would for many people be a bad deal as US health insurance is very expensive.
I don't follow the politics but
Employer Mandate under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) | Cigna (an insurance company says):
Employers must offer health insurance that is affordable and provides minimum value to 95% of their full-time employees and their children up to the end of the month in which they turn age 26, or be subject to penalties. This is known as the employer mandate. It applies to employers with 50* or more full-time employees, and/or full-time equivalents (FTEs). Employees who work 30 or more hours per week are considered full-time.
Is My Employer Required to Provide Health Care Coverage? also talks about this subject.
That said, TX's abortion law might discourage a small % of people/candidates wanting to relocate to TX for work. Presumably, many of the others who might work for Tesla but might need an abortion after the 6th week would have the means to travel out of state to get an abortion. Poor people who don't have the means are the ones who are hosed.
