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.