This is the first time that a federal government survey has asked employers about domestic partner benefits. HRC President Joe Solmonese released the following statement:
“As with so much about our community – from the health disparities we face, to simply how many of us there are – we can’t begin to fully understand and address the challenges that LGBT people face until major surveys and studies actually ask about them. Thankfully, the Obama administration is taking critical steps to ensure that questions about LGBT people and our families are finally asked. We are grateful to Secretary Solis for her leadership at the Department of Labor as part of that effort.
“Offering domestic partner benefits has increasingly become a standard best practice in America’s workplaces, with nearly 60% of Fortune 500 companies offering them. The data released today reflects that progress, but also reminds us that, despite the advances in corporate America, many American workers still lack access to equal benefits for their families. For example, the NCS shows that only 29% of private sector workers have access to health insurance benefits for a same-sex domestic partner, and that number drops to around 20% in the South and Midwest. It also indicates that lower wage earners are much less likely to have access to these benefits.”
