Traditionally, companies thought of a commitment to diversity as involving little more that strict compliance with regulations governing anti discrimination, and legislation involving equal employment opportunities. More recently, the concept of workplace diversity is being seen by employers is a necessary tool to ensure that companies remain competitive. Many companies are beginning to understand that a diverse workforce brings a variety of skills and experience that can be a distinct advantage in an increasingly global economic environment.
Recognition of the value and importance of diversity has brought with it new challenges for the modern organization. One of the major issues involves establishing an employee benefits package that encourages diversity in the workforce. In particular, fringe benefits packages that traditionally excluded unmarried couples from participating in the company's group health insurance program are an example of the type of fringe benefit program that is currently being examined more closely by many employers. Many experts suggest that employers committed to diversity give serious consideration to offering group health care benefits to domestic partners.
A domestic partner can be defined for convenience as an ongoing emotional and financial commitment between two unmarried adults who reside together. Using this definition, domestic partners can be same sex or opposite sex couples. Some people object to offering this type of fringe benefits to couples living what they consider to be an immoral lifestyle. Another common argument heard when domestic partner benefits are being considered or debated involves the cost. Specifically, some people mistakenly believe that companies that allow domestic partners to join the company's group health insurance program will drive costs up. Original cost projections proved to be wrong, and after more than fifteen years of there is more than e
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