Obama Issues Memo Extending New Benefits to Domestic Partners of Federal Employees
Friday, June 4, 2010(National Federation of Federal Employees)
Wednesday, President Barack Obama
issued a memo detailing new regulations
directing agency leaders to extend certain
employee benefits to the domestic partners of
gay and lesbian federal employees.
The memo
was issued following the conclusion of a
year-long investigation by OPM regarding which
benefits could be broadened to include federal
employees’ domestic partners without the need
for legislative action.
Calling
for immediate implementation of the report’s
recommendations, President Obama praised the
findings.
“For far
too long, many of our Government's
hard-working, dedicated LGBT employees have
been denied equal access to the basic rights
and benefits their colleagues enjoy,” said
Obama. “This kind of systemic inequality
undermines the health, well-being, and security
not just of our Federal workforce, but also of
their families and
communities.”
In
addition to extending new benefits, the memo
also mandated the inclusion of domestic
partners of government workers and their
children in all future employee benefits
provided by agencies.
“In the future, all agencies that provide new benefits to the spouses of federal employees and their children should, to the extent permitted by law, provide them to the same-sex domestic partners of their employees and those same-sex domestic partners' children.”
To view
a copy of the memorandum, along with a list of
newly expanded benefits, click
here.