Domestic Partner Benefits

Cvillenews.com is reporting that UVa has agreed to offer employee gym memberships to same-sex couples. I've been meaning to do a post on a similar topic -- i.e., the ongoing and commendable effort by the City of Charlottesville to expand the benefits that it offers to its own gay and lesbian employees. I am pleased to report, for example, that City employees will soon themselves be able to enroll domestic partners in the City's gym membership plan; I believe the target date is July 1. Furthermore, as a result of recent changes by the City's Dept. of Human Resources, the following benefits are already available to City employees:

* They can now designate their domestic partners as beneficiaries on their City Life Insurance policies

* They can now designate their domestic partners as beneficiaries on their City Deferred Compensation Accounts

* They will soon be able to use City Bereavement Leave in the event of a domestic partner's death

* Their domestic partners now have full access to the City's Employee Assistance Program, which offers free assistance with legal, financial, personal, workplace, health and other related issues

Unfortunately, we haven't figured out a way to get around the state prohibition on offering health insurance to domestic partners, but I'd like to think that someday we'll get this taken care of too.

For me, it's not a political issue, it's a matter of simple equity. And decency.