SHRM Study Shows a Quarter of Organizations Prepared to Handle Employee Inquiries on Same-Sex Marriage Benefits

August 19, 2004 05:07 PM US Eastern Timezone
SHRM Study Shows a Quarter of Organizations Prepared to Handle Employee Inquiries on Same-Sex Marriage Benefits

ALEXANDRIA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 19, 2004--The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) recently conducted two online surveys on domestic partnership benefits. Fifteen percent of the human resource (HR) professionals surveyed said inquires about same-sex benefits have increased within the past six months. Twenty-six percent of the respondents said their organizations have a plan in place to address employees' inquiries about same-sex marriage benefits.

The Employees Who Have Asked Employers about Domestic Partner Benefits online survey measures employees' interest in domestic partnership benefits. HR professionals were asked, "In the past six months, has your organization seen an increase in the number of employees asking about the availability of same-sex and opposite sex domestic partner benefits?" Their responses were as follows:


                                            Yes             No
Same-sex domestic partner benefits          15 percent      85 percent
Opposite-sex domestic partner benefits      20 percent      80 percent

The Organizations with Plans in Place that Address Same-Sex Marriage Benefits online survey examines an organization's readiness to address same-sex benefits questions from employees. The survey shows that 74 percent of the human resource professionals (HR) answered "no" when asked, "Does your organization have a plan in place to address employee inquiries about same-sex marriage benefits?"

In a separate study, the SHRM(R) 2004 Benefits Survey found that 27 percent of HR professionals said their organizations currently offer same-sex domestic partner benefits, and another two percent said their company plans to offer the benefits in the coming year.

The "Employees Who Have Asked Employers about Domestic Partner Benefits" and "Organizations With Plans in Place That Address Same-Sex Marriage Benefits" online surveys had samples comprised of 355 and 419 HR professionals respectively.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world's largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 185,000 individual members, the Society's mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society's mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 500 affiliated chapters and members in more than 100 countries. Visit SHRM Online at www.shrm.org