Extending domestic benefits

This summer, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, which was approved by more than two-thirds of the state's voters in 2004.

And at the federal level, the Defense of Marriage Act continues to play out in the political arena.

But many of the biggest employers in the country -- and in metro Atlanta -- are delivering some of the benefits to gay and lesbian workers that their married colleagues have.

Just 10 years ago, many of these same companies didn't even mention sexual orientation as part of an equal opportunity statement. For the first time, the Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign's survey of Fortune 500 companies this year shows that more than half of America's largest employers provide the same benefits to gay and lesbian employees as for other workers. The group began the survey in 1995.

The reason is simple economics, according to Delta Air Lines spokeswoman Gina Laughlin: Offering domestic partnership benefits helps attract and retain a better work force, which is necessary for businesses to compete. Delta is one of eight Fortune 500 companies based in metro Atlanta that offer domestic partnership benefits.

All but two of the 14 Atlanta-based Fortune 500 companies report equal employment policies that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. Agco and Beazer Homes USA, did not respond to the survey, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

"Atlanta-area businesses are at the forefront of a national trend to support diversity in the workplace and equality for all employees," said Daryl Herrschaft, director of the Human Rights Campaign Workplace Project. Herrschaft edited the report, "The State of the Workplace 2005-2006."

He said that even in conservative states like Georgia, where laws have been passed banning same-sex marriage, corporations are moving in the other direction.

"These policies are no longer isolated to the coasts like we've seen in the past," Herrschaft said. "Corporations realize that supporting all families is the best way to create a welcoming environment."

Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. began offering domestic partnership benefits in January 2001, five years after it first included a statement in its employment policies prohibiting discrimination due to sexual orientation. It has since sanctioned an in-house forum for gay and lesbian employees, a group that grew from an ad-hoc coalition of gay and lesbian workers called KOLAGE, founded in 1998.

Steve Bucherati, director of diversity and workplace fairness for Coca-Cola Co., said the company reaps rewards from these policies through both a better work force and a broader marketplace for its products.

"As you're trying to attract a diverse work force, you must be inclusive and you must be fair," Bucherati said. "The other consideration is the consumer marketplace. The [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual] community has $610 billion in buying power. And surveys show 81 percent say they are much more likely to purchase from a GLBT-friendly company."

The growing acceptance of nondiscrimination policies and partnership benefits did not happen without political nudging from activist groups, such as the Human Rights Campaign.

Delta's decision to add domestic partnerships in October 2000 followed a campaign by the Georgia Equality Project to encourage major employers to add those benefits.

In September 2004, Home Depot Inc. announced it would offer domestic partnership benefits after the Human Rights Campaign spotlighted its policy of offering pet insurance while denying benefits to same-sex partners.

The adoption of domestic partnerships by big companies has been steady since 1995, said Herrschaft, of the Human Rights Campaign. In that first survey, 21 percent of the Fortune 500 companies said they offered domestic partnership benefits. This year, 257 did.

"This shows [that] corporate America is way ahead of government," Herrschaft said.

According to the Human Rights Campaign report, companies view the cost of offering domestic partnerships as minimal to promote a diverse work force. The report cites a 2005 Hewitt Associates analysis showing that including domestic partners increased total benefit costs by less than 1 percent among the majority of employers.

And more companies want to get the word out about those polices, Herrschaft said. "Companies are actively seeking recognition for gay-friendly policies because it helps with recruitment."

That outreach includes events, such as Atlanta's Gay Pride festival in June, as well as sponsoring organizations that continue to work for change in corporate America's employment policies.

"Coke is involved in supporting the Human Rights Campaign and has annually supported that," Bucherati said.