The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has just released a condemnation of four Fortune 500 companies--including Houston-based Waste Management--that offer their employees pet insurance but not
domestic partner health insurance.

The HRC Foundation's WorkNet project criticized Home Depot,
Sprint, Waste Management, and Ecolab, all of which have non-
discrimination policies covering sexual orientation but do not
offer domestic partner health insurance. "Paying for a parrot's
but not a person's hospital stay is absurd," said HRC President
Cheryl Jacques. "This is no joke. Employees deserve better from
these companies."

While it's generally up to you whether or not to provide domestic
partner health benefits, it's a good idea to look at your policy
package as a whole to make sure you're not unintentionally
sending mixed messages.