More companies green-light domestic-partner benefits

[freetobegay]

Private employers are instituting domestic-partner health insurance benefits for gay employees at the rate of three companies a day, according to a study by the educational arm of the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign.

The analysis by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation found that more than 1,000 private employers and colleges and universities added domestic-partner benefits in 2003, 18% more than the year before. Some 40% of the Fortune 500 companies now offer domestic-partner benefits, including nearly 70% of the 50 top businesses.

Employers in all states should soon expect to see an effect from the Massachusetts high court decision legalizing marriage for same-sex couples, according to the report, which is being released Thursday. Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Massachusetts on May 17. Once marriage licenses are available to same-sex couples in that state, employers elsewhere may face more pressure from workers to match the benefits available in Massachusetts, the report said.

The report says providing such benefits enhances morale, productivity, recruiting, and competitiveness. One of the study's authors, Kim Mills, said the 18% rise is an indication that employers are deciding that such benefits are good for business.

http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=12335&sd=05/06/04