The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday released final regulations that broaden the definition of "family member" for purposes of determining long-term care benefits. The final rules, published in the Federal Register, modify the definition of relatives qualified to participate in the Federal Long-Term Care Insurance Program to include the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees and retirees. The final rule is the same as a September 2009 draft version.
The move follows a June 2009 presidential memorandum that asked OPM to extend long-term care benefits to same-sex partners of gay and lesbian employees and ordered agencies to conduct internal reviews to identify other benefits that they could extend as well. OPM has said extending long-term care benefits to same-sex partners is a positive first step in making the government more competitive with the private sector, including many top technology companies.
The final rule takes effect on July 1.
Brittany Ballenstedt
Brittany Ballenstedt writes Nextgov's Wired Workplace blog, which delves into the issues facing employees who work in the federal information technology sector. Before joining Nextgov, Brittany covered federal pay and benefits issues as a staff correspondent for Government Executive and served as an associate editor for National Journal's Technology Daily. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Mansfield University and originally hails from Pennsylvania. She currently lives near Travis Air Force Base, Calif., where her husband is stationed.
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