July 16, 2008
Is your company's benefits package in sync with today's definition of "family"?
NWjobs
The Society for Human Resource Management put out its 60th annual Employee Benefits Survey last month. Along with the less-than-surprising revelation that U.S. employers are scaling back on health care and financial benefits was the heartening news that more and more organizations are adjusting their family-friendly benefits to keep up with the modern definition of "family."
For example, 36 percent of employers now offer health care coverage for same-sex domestic partners, as well as for dependent grandchildren. Curiously, the same percentage of employers offer health coverage for unmarried domestic partners of the opposite sex.
What's more, 30 percent of employers now offer health coverage for foster children. Plus, 15 percent grant their employees paid leave upon adopting a child. For comparison, 15 percent of employers offer paid maternity leave beyond what's covered by short-term disability, and 13 percent offer paid paternity leave.
While those numbers aren't high, as my mom used to say, every little bit helps.
Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com
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Karen Burns is the author of The Amazing Adventures of Working Girl, a career guide based on her 59 jobs over 40 years in 22 cities.
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Matt Youngquist is the president of Career Horizons, a career counseling firm.
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Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide."
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Disabled Chat on July 24, 2008 6:32 PM | Reply
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