Texas abortion law concerns tech firms

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, file photo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise President & CEO Antonio Neri, right, rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. Tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it is moving its global headquarters to the Houston area from California. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott?s office announced Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that the relocation will increase the company?s presence in the area, which is already home to more than 2,600 employees. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, file photo, Hewlett Packard Enterprise President & CEO Antonio Neri, right, rings the New York Stock Exchange opening bell. Tech giant Hewlett Packard Enterprise said it is moving its global headquarters to the Houston area from California. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott?s office announced Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, that the relocation will increase the company?s presence in the area, which is already home to more than 2,600 employees. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

For the past several years, Texas has been selling itself as a tech haven attracting startups and tech companies such as Oracle, Hewlett-Packard Enterprises, and even Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, who has moved to the state. Big Tech companies such as Facebook, Amazon and Apple all have grown their presence in the state -- opening new warehouses, data centers and production facilities.

But Texas's recent swerve to the right on abortion, voting restrictions as well as a ban on coronavirus vaccine mandates has many workers and industry leaders worried about retaining workers and recruiting top tech talent to the state.

On Sept. 3, just two days after Texas banned abortions, Vivek Bhaskaran, the chief executive of an Austin-based online survey software company, quickly assembled the handful of female employees that are based in the city. In a virtual town hall, he told the women that regardless of insurance, the company would cover out-of-state abortion services.

"I'm not a politician. I can't change anything. But I'm still responsible for my employees in Texas, and I have a moral responsibility to them," said Bhaskaran, CEO of QuestionPro.

"We already find it extremely challenging to attract tech workers," said Bhaskaran, noting there are more jobs than talent in the industry. "This seems like an extremely unnecessary conversation we're going to have to have" with potential recruits.

The new abortion law in Texas, which went into effect earlier this month, bans abortions at six weeks and allows private citizens to sue people or services that perform or aid in an abortion. Reporting parties could receive at least $10,000 as well as recover legal fees if they win their cases. In response, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the state over the law, trying to block it.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, also signed Thursday a bill that would prohibit large tech companies from blocking or restricting people or their posts based on their viewpoint, setting the stage for a legal battle with the tech industry. Abbott also slammed President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate for private companies, calling it a "power grab."

Texas led the nation in population growth in 2020, attracting 373,965 residents according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. While experts say it's too early to tell whether the new laws will cause any massive change in worker migration, they note that right-wing measures could lead to a pause of left-leaning tech workers considering moving to the state.

For some tech industry workers who recently relocated to the state, the abortion law is making them consider moving elsewhere.

That's the case for Valerie Veteto, a copywriter, who has freelanced for tech companies including Salesforce, Patreon and Lyft. She moved to Austin from San Francisco in September 2020.

But a few months later, when Texas' power grid failed during a winter storm, leaving millions without power, heat and water, Veteto began questioning her choice.

"That was a moment that chipped away at my confidence of living here. Then obviously what's going on currently, it sealed the deal," she said. She and her boyfriend are now planning to relocate to New York City.

Some professionals in the tech industry say they're worried about what the passage of the abortion law says about the direction Texas is headed in terms of other major social issues.

"It scares the living daylights out of me," said Deep Barot, a Texas native and San Francisco-based investor in biotech, software and cryptocurrency companies. "This is an abortion law, but what's next?"

Information for this article was contributed by Tatum Hunter and Chris Alcantara of The Washington Post.

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