State firms evaluate benefit policies

Some Arkansas-based companies are reviewing their employee-benefit plans in light of a ruling by Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza that struck down the state's gay-marriage ban.





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While the Arkansas Supreme Court on Friday issued a stay of Piazza's ruling, companies continue to consider the best way to handle benefit packages for employees in same-sex relationships.

Fortune 500 companies such as Wal-Mart and Tyson Foods implemented broader benefits policies beginning Jan. 1. Both tweaked their policies in response to the to the U.S. Supreme Court declaring Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

Under the retail giant's plan, benefits are available to same- and opposite-sex spouses and same- or opposite-sex domestic partners. In the case of domestic partners, Wal-Mart requires its employees to have been in an "ongoing, exclusive committed relationship" over the past year with plans to "continue the arrangement indefinitely."

Spokesman Randy Hargrove said the plan was put in place to help Wal-Mart attract the "best workforce in the retail industry."

"By adopting a single definition for all Wal-Mart associates in the United States, we are able to ensure consistency for them in various markets," Hargrove said.

Wal-Mart received a score of 80 out of 100 on the 2014 Corporate Equality Index, which surveys companies to track trends and practices among industries regarding gay and transgender people. The index is maintained by the Human Rights Campaign. The report said 90 percent of the companies on the index provided medical and other health benefits.

"Of the employers providing partner health insurance, 68 percent provide them to both same and different sex partners of employees," the report said.

Tyson, like Wal-Mart, altered its benefits package in response to the U.S. Supreme Court decision. Those benefits apply, however, only to couples who are in a legally recognized marriage.

Employees in domestic partnerships and civil unions are not eligible, Tyson spokesman Dan Fogleman said.

"In order to comply with recent federal court rulings and subsequent changes by federal agencies, same-sex spouses became eligible for Tyson Foods' benefit plans Jan. 1, 2014, if they were legally married in a state or other jurisdiction that recognizes same-sex marriages," Fogleman said. "Since domestic partners, civil unions and other similar relationships are not recognized as marriage under federal laws, such relationships aren't eligible for benefits."

Windstream Holdings Inc. of Little Rock has a benefits plan, which includes medical, prescription, dental and vision coverage, that is extended to same-sex spouses and domestic partners "who entered into a marriage, civil union or comparable relationship in a state that sanctions the union by law," spokesman David Avery said.

Avery said the company employs about 13,500, who all would be eligible for benefits, depending on the state in which they work.

A spokesman for Acxiom Corp. said the company offers benefits to employees and their same-sex partners.

The ongoing legal battle is keeping some companies from tweaking or even discussing their benefits plans.

ArcBest's vice president for investor relations, David Humphrey, said the Fort Smith-based transportation and logistics company is staying quiet about its benefits packages at this time.

"Because of the ever-changing nature of the situation, we don't have anything to say about our personnel policies or how they might be affected by potential changes in these laws," Humphrey said. The company has 11,420 employees, including 10,000 at ABF Freight System.

About 76 percent of the employees at ArcBest's ABF Freight are in the Teamsters union, which has its own benefits plan. ABF Freight makes payments to the union benefit plans each month, Humphrey said. Nonunion employees who work more than 30 hours a week are eligible for benefits, he said.

Baptist Health does not extend benefits to same-sex partners or spouses, said Mark Lowman, spokesman for the Little Rock-based system.

"In terms of recent rulings ... we've asked our legal department to review those rules to give us some clarity and let us understand our options," he said.

The Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service have said that tax benefits are only recognized when a couple is in a legal marriage.

"The tax treatment of employer-provided benefits is going to be better for a married couple than it is for a couple that is only in a civil union or domestic partnership," said Sean Anderson, who teaches at the University of Illinois College of Law. "The federal government says it will recognize marriage if it was valid in the state where you got married, regardless of where you live now."

Business on 05/17/2014

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