Question. What percent of your company’s total workforce in the United States is:

_____ % married
_____ % unmarried
_____ unknown

Fact. Most employers have adopted formal statements regarding their equal employment opportunity policies. Many have included "marital status" among the classifications for which the employer does not discriminate.

Question. Is "marital status" listed in your company’s EEO policy?

___ Yes
___ No
___ Company does not have an EEO policy

3. Diversity Program

Fact. Many employers have established diversity programs in which they evaluate the needs of various diverse segments of the workforce and promote a corporate culture that shows respect for diversity in the workplace. These programs often address the concerns of women, racial and ethnic minorities, parents, and gays, lesbians, and bisexuals.

Question. Does your diversity program also focus on the needs of single workers?

____ Yes
____ No
____ We are looking into this

Fact. Many employers have reevaluated their programs and policies so as to create a "family friendly" workplace that helps employees to balance their work and family obligations. Job sharing, telecommuting, generous leave policies, child care, and benefits for spouses and dependents are often part of this family-friendly environment. But unmarried workers who have domestic partners or those who have unmarried adult relatives living with them are often overlooked in these programs because "family" has not been defined in a broad and inclusive manner.

Question.

a. Has your company attempted to create a family-friendly workplace?

___ Yes
___ No

b. If yes, does the program include the needs of:

(1) workers with an unmarried partner

___ Yes
___ No
___ Only same-sex partners

(2) workers with an unmarried adult relative living with them

___ Yes
___ No
___ Only parent or adult child

Question. Does your company have a work-life program?

____ Yes
____ No
____ We are looking into this.

6.  Employee Benefits 

Fact. Employee benefits programs were once based on a "traditional family" model with an employed husband and homemaker wife with minor children at home. Marital status and family demographics have changed dramatically and so have employee benefits programs. The weekly paycheck as the only form of compensation is also a relic of the past. Today, more than 25% of a worker’s pay comes in the form of benefits compensation. With workers and unions demanding "equal pay for equal work," many employers have restructured their benefits programs so that all workers are compensated more fairly regardless of their marital status or household configuration.

a. Cafeteria-Style Benefits Program

Fact. Some have adopted cafeteria-style benefits plans that treat each worker equally in terms of benefits compensation. All workers in a given pay category are given the same number of credits for use in the benefits program. One worker may want to use some for child care. Another may want elder care. Some may want a bare-bones medical plan. Others may want a more expensive medical plan. And yet others may want to put more into a retirement account.

Question. Does your company have a cafeteria-style benefits program in which each worker gets the same benefits regardless of marital status or parental status?

___ Yes
___ No
___ We are looking into this.

b. Domestic Partner Benefits Program

Fact. More than 3,000 employers in the nation now offer some form of benefits to unmarried employees with domestic partners. Most of these programs are open to both same-sex and heterosexual couples. Some municipalities, such as San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles have passed city contractor nondiscrimination laws in which they require companies doing business with the city to offer domestic partner benefits to same-sex and opposite-sex partners of the company’s own workers.

(1) Question. Does your company offer domestic partner benefits?

(2) Question.  If yes, which benefits are provided?

___ Health
___ Dental
___ Leave
___ Retirement
___ Other
 

c. Extended Family Benefits Programs

Fact. A growing number of financial institutions have moved beyond the domestic partner benefits model by implementing a more expansive "extended family" benefits program. These plans allow an unmarried worker to assign benefits to one adult who lives with them, which may be a (1) same-sex domestic partner, or (2) opposite-sex domestic partner,or (2) adult blood relative under the age of 65 whom the employee claims as a dependent for federal income-tax purposes. Companies with such programs include: Bank of America, Nations Bank, Bank Boston, Fleet Bank, Citigroup, and Merrill Lynch, among others.

Question. Does your company have an extended family benefits program?

____ Yes
____ No
____ We are looking into this.

7.  Employee Support Groups

Question. Would your company be willing to communicate with unmarried workers in one or more of the following ways?

a. Would your company be willing to take a survey of your unmarried workers to identify their needs and concerns, including the possibility of their forming a workplace support group?

___ Yes
___ No

b. If a sufficient number of unmarried employees at a given location expressed a desire to form a workplace support group, would your company allow that to happen and give an Unmarried Employees Association the same support that your company gives to other support groups which already exist?

___ Yes
___ No
 

c. Would your company be willing to share information with your unmarried employees about the American Association for Single People as a resource which is available to them?

___ Yes
___ No