How to Get Your Employer to Keep Covering Birth Control

1. Start the conversation:

Organizing a workplace conversation is the first and best step. Your employer may already be planning to keep coverage for birth control, but unless they’ve announced it already, the first step is asking. You can convene a conversation at work that could include representation from your human resources team, management, or any relevant Employee Resources Groups, and share your concerns about keeping coverage for birth control as part of your insurance plan given the new Trump administration rule. Respectfully ask if the company is planning to keep the coverage.

If the answer is “Yes!”:

​​​​​​​Great! Next, ask if your company can share that commitment publicly on social media or in a press statement. If the answer is yes, make sure they use the hashtag #BusinessForBC.

If the answer is “I don’t know”:

Don’t worry, that may mean it’s time to ask your human resources (HR) department. They likely deal with the insurance policies, and may have more information. Ask your boss to talk to HR with you, and help get an answer.

If the answer is “No”:

Ask a few follow up questions to find out why and get more information. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the conversation is over, and it’s important to know the “why” to help figure out next steps. You can always email [email protected] to get more suggestions on what to do next if the conversation becomes difficult.

2. Talk with your Coworkers:

No matter how your boss or human resources team responded, you can have a conversation to let your coworkers know that this is an issue that matters to you and see who else is with you. This might help your company to proudly declare their support for keeping birth control coverage, or allow them to hear from more people about just how important this coverage is for everyone. If your employer is on the fence, have your coworkers follow step one, and keep having those conversations.

3. Share the News:

Encouraging your employer to publicly share their decision to keep coverage for their employees can help encourage more companies to do the same. Ask your employer to post their support to social media using the hashtag #BusinessForBC. If they want to go above and beyond, they could announce the decision to all employees in a memo, release a press statement, and do other public communication. Reach out to [email protected] for resources. You can share the news on social media too! Use the hashtag: #Fight4BirthControl and tag @PPact so we can help amplify the good news.