Penn State Adds DP Benefits
June 26, 2005
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA — Penn State University is now formally offering health benefits to workers with same-sex partners, adding one of Pennsylvania's largest employers to the dozens of colleges and universities around the country offering such benefits.
The change quietly went into effect earlier this year and is just now being publicized.
About two dozen workers have signed up for the benefits, school spokesman Tysen Kendig said Friday. Penn State is the seventh-largest employer in Pennsylvania, with nearly 39,000 people, just over half of them full-time, at its 24 campuses.
We make changes to the benefits package all the time, and don't issue a statement or news release on it,
Kendig said. We're dealing with such a small number of people who have signed up to receive the benefits.
Before this year, Penn State workers with same-sex partners could apply for benefits out of an emergency special assistance fund
established in 2003 from private donations. It was established primarily to help gay and lesbian domestic partners, Kendig said.
We did it that way to get a feel of how the program would operate
before such benefits were made part of the regular plan, he added.
The university didn't feel any political pressure over the move, Kendig said.
The change has been greeted warmly on campus by advocates, although some students, faculty and staffers who sit on diversity advisory committees also questioned whether the school wasn't being more vocal because of political or legislative pressure.
Under its classification as a state-related university, Penn State receives some state funding but isn't owned by the state.
It's been a challenge for the university because, politically, they face numerous people who don't want to see this at Penn State,
said Tom Donohue, executive director of Who's Positive, a State College-based AIDS awareness and outreach program. Donohue served on an advisory committee two years ago and makes presentations at Penn State through his program.
Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay rights advocacy group, said 290 colleges and universities around the country offer some sort of domestic partner benefits, up from about 267 in 2003. Besides Penn State, 22 other Pennsylvania schools offer such benefits, including Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pittsburgh.
Schools that don't offer comprehensive same-sex benefits would be left out of the game when it came to attracting the best and brightest employees,
said Daryl Herrschaft, the group's deputy director. It's also demonstrative of how far workplace policies are progressing in the state of Pennsylvania.
Comments
I am very interested inthisissue. I have ben living with my boyfriend for over 5 years. During that time he ws covered under his own health insurance plan at work in NYC. He recently quit there and obtained a position in PA. Incidentally, I have 2 colleg age children I cannot afford to insure as my "family" policy at work costs 2 weeks of my monthly salary. My boyfriend currently is covered by COBRA but he would prefer not to use it because the insurance is mainly only good in NY. I asked at my company if I could cover him under my plan if I convert to family and I was told NO because the law was changed as of January 2005 to not allow domestic partnerships and therefore, not allow the benefit of health insurance for different sex couples in a committed relationship. Now I read that Penn STate isoffering it. What gives?? Is there a law or not that prevents 2 committed people from obtaining insurance together?
Posted by: Janet Troostat December 6, 2005 11:59 AM
Janet:
I'm not aware that there is a specific law in Pennsylvania that forbids a private employer from offering domestic partnership benefits. In fact, there are many employers in Pennsylvania that provide these benefits, although of those that do, they often limit coverage to same-sex couples only on the basis that gay or lesbian couples cannot marry.
To find out what employers in Pennsylvania offer DP benefits, go to the Human Rights Campaign web site: http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Work_Life and search their employer database. Hint: if you use the Detailed Search, you can search for employers in your area. Once you find out who offers these, then check to see if they offer it to both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.
Posted by: Stephen J. Hylandat December 7, 2005 7:19 AM
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