Hewlett-Packard Co. - Domestic Partner Benefits Program
Working for a company like Hewlett-Packard is pretty cool. It pays well, has a non-discrimination policy that includes both sexual orientation and sexual identity or expression and provides domestic partner benefits. It has achieved a score of 100% in the HRC Corporate Equality Index since 2003. It even terminated an employee for displaying biblical quotes as an anti-gay protest against posters hung up around campus declaring that "Diversity is Our Strength".
What more could they do?
Well, to be eligible for most benefits, employees must submit a declaration of domestic partnership and meet the following criteria:
- There must be an ongoing and committed spouse-like relationship intended to exist indefinitely, which has existed for at least six months
- The partners are not related by blood to a degree of closeness that would prohibit legal marriage in the state in which they reside
- Both have shared the same residence for at least six months, are responsible to each other for the direction and financial management of their household, and are jointly responsible for each other's financial obligations
What more could they do? They could eliminate the waiting period. There is no silly waiting period for married couples: you say "I do" in front of a duly appointed official and poof, you qualify for benefits. In this day and age, it's possible for a twit like Britney Spears to marry her childhood sweetheart only to annul the marriage soon afterward. The so-called "institution of marriage" is being treated as a joke -- a circus act to be used for nothing more than a mere publicity stunt. Why, then, should marriage confer special rights? I don't get it. I don't think I ever will.
posted by Ste @ 13:02
2 comments
2 Comments:
I think you missed my point entirely.
When you and your husband finally married and moved in together, you didn't have to cohabitate for another six months before being eligible for benefits. Sure, you may have dated your husband for three years before you married him, but you didn't have to prove that to your husband's employer.
The rules are different for me, and that's unfair.
You said, "I've had my share of gay friends and believe you me, they went through boyfriends like most people go through a roll of toilet paper." Frankly, I take offense to your scatological reference. Besides, there are just as many skanky straight guys out there.
Maybe you think that all gays and lesbians will shack-up at the drop of a hat. Well, that's just not true. You said, "Are companies supposed to pay for benefits for everyone you call your boyfriend?" Again, you missed my point; that's not what I was suggesting. A boyfriend is just that: a boyfriend, not a committed spouse-like partner.
Ultimately, a gay person and his/her committed spouse-like partner just does NOT have the same rights as you and your husband enjoy. That's my point.
At the end of the day, our values probably aren't all that different; I just hope that you can see past the rhetoric and understand what's really important.
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to post.
At the end of the day, our values probably aren't all that different; I just hope that you can see past the rhetoric and understand what's really important.
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