Domestic-partner benefits get boost from Feds’ HR boss
November 11, 2009 by Fred HosierPosted in: Finance, In this week's e-newsletter
As many companies weigh the pros and cons of extending their benefit packages to domestic partners of employees, the federal government’s top human resources manager suggested that not doing so would say to young people, “This is not a cool place to be.”
That’s the take of the U.S. government’s chief HR officer, John Berry, in testimony before Congress in support of a bill that would extend full benefits to the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees.
Berry says extending benefit coverage would ensure the federal government remains competitive with the private sector in employee hiring.
Most Fortune 500 companies, 22 states and more than 150 local governments already extend such benefits.
If approved, the bill would cost taxpayers $56 million a year, or about 0.2% of the entire cost of the government’s federal employee health insurance.
It’s estimated that same-sex benefits account for about 0.5% of the average company’s healthcare costs.
advertisement
Tags: benefit packages, same-sex benefits
November 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pm
Am I the only one bothered by the idea that policy decisions are based, at least in part, on whether or not young people think it’s cool?
November 12th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Good point Mark. It must be “cool” to work in government these days because government is the only sector to increase employment over the past year.
Change we can believe in – indeed.
November 19th, 2009 at 5:52 pm
The point is that the younger generation is more tolerant of diversity, including gays and lesbians. Young professionals especially are less inclined to want to work where equal rights are not standard policy. Any business needs to be looking to the future and that means attracting employees who are relatively young.