Shareholder Proposal Urges Walmart to Cite Worker Impact From Abortion Laws

Clean Yield Asset Management urged a “yes” vote on a Walmart shareholder proposal on reproductive healthcare legislation, said a Wednesday SEC filing. The investment firm filed the proposal -- to be voted at the retailer's June 1 annual meeting -- on behalf of client Julie Kalish because of concerns that Walmart "may be negatively impacted by enacted or proposed state policies restricting reproductive health care, thus putting shareholder value at risk.” The resolution asks the Walmart board to issue a public report before Dec. 31 detailing “known and potential risks and costs to the company caused by enacted or proposed state policies severely restricting reproductive rights,” along with strategies beyond litigation and legal compliance that Walmart may deploy to minimize or mitigate risks, the filing said. It suggested the board’s analysis include effects on employee hiring, retention and productivity, plus decisions on "closure or expansion of operations” in states proposing or enacting restrictive laws and strategies around abortion, “such as any public policy advocacy by the Company, related political contributions policies, and human resources or educational strategies.” The proposal said “continuing to provide comprehensive reproductive health care coverage should be a priority for Walmart,” which has about 935,000 women employees, and the loss of access to abortion care “may disrupt or prevent employees from remaining in the workforce." In its opposition, Walmart said the proposal “is framed so broadly that we believe it would be extremely difficult for the company to fulfill this objective to a degree that would be of value or utility for our shareholders, associates and other stakeholders,” the filing said. Walmart also said it believes its resources “are better focused on its day-to-day review and design of our benefits plans and programs in order to remain competitive in our industry and in compliance with all applicable regulatory requirements in the jurisdictions where we operate.”