Family Attorney
Domestic Partner Benefits
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Health insurance plans are ever-evolving employee benefits where innovation is continually being tested and definitions redefined. A concept in employee coverage currently gaining notoriety is Domestic Partner Benefits. Providing health coverage for a domestic partner is becoming increasingly important to small companies and large corporations alike. It’s a valuable incentive to help recruit and retain talent in a thriving workforce where premium benefits are in high demand. Domestic partner coverage would give the same corporate insurance benefits currently offered to an employee’s spouse to an individual who is in a committed relationship with an employee. As of May 2000, five state governments and 92 Fortune 500 companies (including such names as IBM and AT&T) were offering domestic partner benefits to their employees. These companies vary, however, in whether they offer benefits to only same-sex domestic partners or to both same- and opposite-sex domestic partners. While the idea of domestic partner benefits has received favorable media attention, it holds hidden costs for both employee and employer that merit careful attention. Many who are drawn to the social appeal of this benefit may not realize the related cost – both for employee and employer. More : accounting.smartpros.com |
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UK to consider domestic-partner benefits to stay competitive.
Sep. 12--Less than two months after the University of Louisville became Kentucky's first public university to offer health benefits for domestic partners, including those of the same sex, the University of Kentucky will consider whether it, too, should provide those benefits. The university will study the issue and several others, including affordable child care and tuition breaks for spouses and children, that were identified in a work-life survey completed last year, spokesman Jay Blanton said. The formation of the committees on those issues will be announced today, when the university's human-resources department reports on the work-life survey to a Board
Airline Extends Its Employees’ Benefits
American Airlines is extending employee benefits to domestic partners. The move announced today by American, the nation's second-largest airline, followed a similar move last week by United Airlines. ''More and more companies are offering these benefits,'' said David Smith, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay and lesbian political organization. American, a unit of the AMR Corporation, already had offered such benefits as travel discounts under a ''registered companion'' program, but now will also offer additional benefits like life insurance and medical and dental coverage. To qualify, an employee will have to prove joint residence and
U. Nebraska: U. Nebraska regents revisit same-sex benefits in meeting.
Saying the issue was "long overdue" for a visit, two University of Nebraska faculty members urged the NU Board of Regents to add a discussion on domestic partner benefits to its to-do list Saturday. "The time has come," said John Wunder, a U. Nebraska history professor and president-elect of the Academic Senate. "We should be... Source : accessmylibrary.com
Seminar addresses financial issues for Asbury Park, N.J., same-sex couples.
May 11--By not having the right to marry, gay and lesbian couples in New Jersey say they continue to face financial issues that are complicating their tax returns and inheritance plans. It is forcing them to look for answers to questions that for married couples already are relatively clear. For example, will your partner be hit with federal estate taxes when you die? (Answer: For married couples, no. For gay couples, yes). "There's a whole lot of issues married people take for granted that gays and lesbians can't," said Fran Goldberg, 56, of Neptune, who has been with partner Harriet
Will State Workers in Arizona Be Able to Get Partner Benefits?
Arizona Janet Napolitano Governor's Regulatory Review Council agreed unanimously to grant benefits to domestic partners of state employees. Critics said that the benefits of the new rule revisions, the institution of marriage. Gays and lesbians partners welcomed the measure. Marriages between persons of the same opinion about later, some people react negatively to messages purely budgetary. The Governor's Office says that the costs for national partners would offer advantages, of course, the fact that Arizona would be more competitive in the production and retention of the best talent. This means that the new directive as from 1 October 2008 employees