WORKPLACE BENEFITS: Google to Reimburse Taxes paid by Gay and Lesbian Employees

July 1, 2010

New York – Search Engine giant Google has expressed willingness to address the disparity in how workplace health benefit taxes are implemented for same-sex and heterosexual married couples who are employed by the company.

In a new policy announced in a blog posting on its website, Google said they plan to compensate gay and lesbian employees for the “extra money they pay the federal government each year”.

The company said the compensation will be given not by an increase in salary but through a separate sum in the form of a reimbursement.

Gay and lesbian employees of the company welcomed the announcement, calling it an “innovative and bold stand”.

The law mandates that employer-provided benefits for domestic partners are counted as taxable income, assuming that the partner is not a dependent.