Company announces ‘baby bonus’ for employees expecting or adopting a child
CEO Michael Seifert of PublicSq speaks with attendees at the 2021 AmericaFest at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix. / Credit: Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Denver Newsroom, Jun 19, 2023 / 11:41 am (CNA).
The company PublicSq has recently announced that instead of paying its employees time off or travel expenses to get an abortion, it will offer employees a bonus if they have a baby or adopt a child.
PublicSq is an app designed to link patriotic businesses with “quality products, services, and exclusive discounts,” according to its website. Michael Seifert, the company’s CEO and founder, discussed his decision to implement the new policy on “Fox & Friends Weekend” on June 18.
“We think that ultimately a company is only as strong as the families that built it, and then for us, we’re a pro-family company,” he said. “We’re unashamed about that. And we’re actually the largest marketplace in the country of pro-family businesses.”
Seifert explained that he sees the world going in a direction that is “anti-family” and called out companies that are offering abortion benefits to their employees such as Patagonia, Amazon, and Target.
“So we thought, what better way to express this value that’s core to our beliefs than actually putting some money behind it, putting our money where our mouth is,” he continued.
The company will offer a $ 5,000 bonus to any employee who has a baby or adopts a child. The bonus will be given upon the birth of the child. If adopting, the bonus will be given upon the initiation of the adoption process because, as Seifert emphasized, “adoption fees can be exorbitant.”
“We wanted to sing an opposite tune and say, let’s actually put $ 5,000 behind any of our employees that were to have a baby, their spouses to have a baby, or they were to adopt, and this would be $ 5,000 after tax,” he explained. “They can use it as they please. Just as an awesome ‘thank you’ for being a great team member and to empower their family to continue to grow.”
Soon after the historic overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, several states banned or regulated abortion, which caused individuals seeking an abortion to potentially travel out of state in order to receive one. As a result, several companies announced they would provide financial assistance to employees seeking an abortion.
For example, Dick’s Sporting Goods announced June 24, 2022, that it would provide up to $ 4,000 in travel reimbursements to any employee, spouse, or dependent enrolled in its medical plan seeking an abortion in states where it is illegal.
Other companies who made similar offers included Apple, Netflix, Disney, Meta, Uber, AirBnb, and more.
Seifert argued that companies would rather pay their employees to get an abortion because it is less expensive than having to cover the cost of maternity leave.
“That’s the sad reality of this, that these companies will pretend to care about ‘women’s health care.’ But at the end of the day, they just don’t want to pay maternity leave,” he said. “They’re more afraid of losing the monetary value that their employees provide. So they would rather choose that than they would to empower the growth of these families.”
He added: “I actually want more of our employees, family members, because I think they’re great people, and we want their communities to thrive. And we believe that ultimately strong families build a strong nation, and I wish more companies felt the same way.”
Seifert added that three pregnancies have already been announced in the last month.
“It’s happening. People are excited about it,” he said.
