The University of Alabama will continue offering benefits for employees’ same-sex partners, UA President Guy Bailey said Friday in an interview with The Crimson White.
While Bailey said he wasn’t aware of the specifics of employee benefits packages, he stated the University would maintain any benefits listed to offer employee’s competitive compensation.
“If they’re here, we’ll keep them,” Bailey said when questioned about benefits for same-sex couples such as health care. “I know what our benefits package is generally. For example, I don’t even know how many of your kids are covered; I don’t know the exact coverage of that.”
Medical, dental and vision plans for UA employees and dependents are listed on UA’s Division of Financial Affairs Human Resources website. The site also lists ‘Dependent Eligibility Requirements’ and ‘Dependent Documentation Requirements.’
Eligible dependents cited on the website are spouse, dependent child, sponsored adult dependent and sponsored child dependent.
Same-sex couples could benefit under the ‘Sponsored Adult Dependent,’ which requires the dependent “shares primary residence (not as a renter, tenant or employee) with a covered UA employee, and has lived with [the UA employee] for at least the 12 continuous months immediately prior to effective date of coverage.”
Sponsored Adult Dependents are also required to be at least 19 years of age, not a relative of the employee and is not employed by the employee. Neither the Sponsored Adult Dependent nor the UA employee can be married during the period of the shared residence.
“Here’s the best way to put it: we’re very interested in providing the most competitive benefits package possible for our employees,” Bailey said. “So yes, absolutely, we’ll continue that.”
The Human Resources website also lists Dependent Documentation Requirements, which state that Sponsored Adult Dependents provide a copy of the dependent’s birth certificate or driver’s license and two different forms of documentation establishing a common residence for the past 12 months.
“That’s simply part of compensation and we’re interested in having the most competitive compensation possible for our faculty and staff, and that includes benefits,” Bailey said.
