New Bid To Provide Benefits To Partners Of Gay Federal Workers

New Bid To Provide Benefits To Partners Of Gay Federal Workers

(Washington) Legislation was introduced in the Senate Wednesday that would provide domestic partner benefits to federal employees.
The bill filed by Sens. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) and Joe Lieberman (ID-Conn.) has 19 co-sponsors.
Under the legislation a federal employee and same-sex domestic partner would be eligible to participate in federal health benefits, the Family and Medical Leave program, long term care, insurance, and retirement benefits.
These workers and their domestic partners would also assume the same obligations that apply to married employees and their spouses, such as anti-nepotism rules and financial disclosure requirements.
More than half of Fortune 500 companies and almost 10,000 other companies provide benefits to domestic partners. Hundreds of state and local governments – including Connecticut and Oregon - and scores of colleges and universities, said Sen. Smith.
"The federal government should be leading the way rather than following when it comes to providing benefits,” Smith said. “Rights and benefits must be afforded to all employees equally. This bill corrects the current inequity.”
Lieberman said that it is time for the federal government to catch up to the private sector. "Not just to set an example but so that it can compete for the most qualified employees and ensure that all of our public servants receive fair and equitable treatment."
"It makes good economic and policy sense. And it is the right thing to do," Lieberman said.
Lieberman and Smith introduced similar legislation last Congress. The bill died without coming to a committee vote.
Based on the experience of private companies and state and local governments, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that offering benefits for same-sex domestic partners of federal employees would increase the cost of those programs by less than one half of one percent.
In surveys, employers report that they cover domestic partners to boost recruitment and retention of quality employees, as well as to be fair. Sens. Lieberman and Smith in a joint statement said the federal government cannot adequately compete with the private sector and state and local governments for qualified personnel if it doesn’t provide domestic-partner benefits.
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