Exxon Mobil Corp., formed after Exxon’s acquisition of Mobil last week, has abolished a Mobil policy that provided health-care coverage to partners of gay and lesbian employees. Under the new policy, current gay and lesbian employees of Exxon Mobil Corp. will retain domestic-partner benefits but newly-hired employees will not receive the domestic-partner benefits.
Exxon Mobil claims its anti-discrimination policy mirrors that of the federal government.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a gay-rights group based in Washington, DC, has attacked this policy stating that Exxon Mobil “may have become the first major U.S. employer ever to roll back a nondiscrimination policy and the second to end domestic partner benefits.” David M. Smith, HRC’s communications director, also noted that “almost 3,000 U.S. employers currently offer domestic partner insurance benefits including more than 80 Fortune 500 companies.” Exxon Mobil’s decision to end benefits for gay and lesbian employee partners affects 121,000 employees.
“The fact is, no jurisdiction recognizes marriage between same-sex couples. These benefits have proliferated throughout corporate America as a way for companies to offer equal pay for equal work,” said Mills.
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