Walmart Extends Benefits To LGBT Employees' Same-Sex Domestic Partners (WAIT FOR IT!)
Please scroll down to find the bolded part that makes this less impressive than it sounds at first hearing.
Walmart, the nation’s largest private employer, will soon offer a full suite of benefits to its employees’ domestic partners, including those of the same sex.
The change will take effect in all 50 states, independent of each state’s definition of what marriage, domestic partnership or civil union entails.
The Bentonville, Ark.-based retail giant sent postcards to its staffers on Monday outlining changes to their health insurance policies for 2014, including news that “full-time associates can cover any spouse or domestic partner,” regardless of gender.
Walmart spokesperson Randy Hargrove stressed that offering healthcare to LGBT partners is “one piece” of the store chain’s updated benefits package, which includes a vision plan, 100% coverage for some surgeries including hip replacement and incentives to quit smoking.
On Tuesday, gay news blog Towleroad obtained a leaked internal memo from Walmart’s senior vice president of benefits Sally Welborn to the retailer’s management, describing its new LGBT-friendly policy as “a business decision”:
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http://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2013/08/28/walmart-extends-benefits-to-lgbt-employees-same-sex-domestic-partners/
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