Tracking employers that do and don't equalize partner benefits coverage

By Nan Hunter -

From the NY Times:

A growing number of companies are covering the extra costs that same-sex couples pay for domestic partner benefits — and even more companies are thinking about it. So we’ve decided to keep track of who is doing what in a chart at the bottom of this post.
While many companies offer domestic partnership coverage — an important benefit on its own since same-sex couples’ unions are not recognized by the federal government — some pioneering organizations are extending an even more generous policy. They’re essentially reimbursing gay employees for the extra taxes they may incur as a result of that coverage, something that married heterosexual people don’t have to worry about.
Why is this an issue? Gay and lesbian employees who are lucky enough to work at places that have domestic partner coverage are taxed on the value of those benefits (if the partner is not considered a dependent). A handful of companies cover those extra costs, but not until Google adopted that policy earlier this year did the movement to equalize benefits begin to gain traction. Apple is the latest boldface name to join the effort.
A provision within a draft of the health care overhaul bill would have eliminated the tax, but it was ultimately dropped. The Human Rights Campaign said it continued to work on getting a bill passed, but until that happens — if it ever does — employees or their employers must pay the extra tax. (Many companies will cover the costs only for same-sex partners, since opposite-sex couples have the option to marry.)...
The biggest deterrent, of course, is the cost. Many companies support efforts to eliminate the tax altogether, but they’re unwilling to cover the costs employees now face.
Wish your company’s name was on the list with a “Yes” next to it? The Human Rights Campaign has a proposal and other information on its Web site that employees can use to help build their case...

	Technology Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Google	Yes
2.	Facebook	–	Yes, in 2011
3.	Apple	–	Yes, in 2011
4.	Cisco	Yes
5.	Microsoft	No	Awaiting response
6.	Motorola	No	No
7.	Intel	No	No current plans
8.	Hewlett-Packard	Declined to comment	Declined to comment
9.	I.B.M.	No	Continues to monitor situation

	Financial Services Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Barclays		Yes, in 2011
2.	Bank of America	No	Continues to evaluate marketplace, but no immediate plans
3.	Citigroup	No	Declined to comment
4.	JPMorgan Chase	No	Continues to monitor situation
5.	Goldman Sachs	No	Declined to comment
6.	Morgan Stanley	No	Currently reviewing
7.	Capital One	No	Currently reviewing
8.	Charles Schwab	No	No current plans
9.	Prudential Financial	No	Declined to comment
10.	State Street	No	No
11.	TIAA-CREF	No	Continues to monitor situation

	Insurance Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Aetna	No	Continues to monitor situation
2.	The Chubb Corp.	No	No plans at this time
3.	Nationwide	No	Currently assessing
4.	MetLife	No	No
5.	CNA	No	“Has no confirmed plans for additional benefits at this time”

	Cable/Wireless Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Time Warner	Awaiting response
2.	Verizon	Awaiting response
3.
4.
5.

	Consumer-related Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Discovery Channel	Yes
2.	Nike	Awaiting response
3.	Best Buy	No	No plans at this time
4.	General Mills	Awaiting response
5.	Levi’s	No	No plans at this time
6.	Miller-Coors	No	No
7.	Eastman Kodak	Awaiting response
8.	Herman Miller	No	No
9.	Texas Instruments	Awaiting response
10.	The New York Times	No	No

	Nonprofit Organizations	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Gates Foundation	Yes
2.	Unitarian Universalist Association	Yes (since 1994)
3.
4.
5.

	Consulting Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Bain & Co.	–	Yes, in 2011
2.	Boston Consulting Group	–	Yes, probably in 2011
3.	Ernst & Young	No	Currently evaluating
4.	PricewaterhouseCoopers	Awaiting response
5.	Deloitte	No	Currently reviewing
6.	KPMG	No	Declined to comment

	Drug and Medical Companies	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Medtronics	No	Currently evaluating
2.	Merck	No	Currently evaluating
3.	GlaxoSmithKline	Awaiting response	Awaiting response
4.
5.

	Travel-related	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Kimpton Hotels	Yes	–
2.	Marriott	No	No current plans
3.	American Airlines	Awaiting response
4.	Delta Airlines	Awaiting response
5.

	Law Firms	Reimburses Now	Plans to Adopt Policy
1.	Morrison & Foerster	–	Yes, in 2011
2.	McDermott, Will & Emery	–	Yes, in 2011
3.	Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft	Yes, since ‘99
3.	Bingham McCutchen	–	Yes, in 2011

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