Tell Yale University: Cover the Benefits Tax for Gay Employees

Tell Yale University: Cover the Benefits Tax for Gay Employees

Started
January 12, 2011
Petition to
Yale Employee Service Center and 4 others
Petition Closed
This petition had 408 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by Michael Jones

For many gay employees at Yale University, 2010 ended with a bit of a thud. That's because due to a University payroll error, 61 gay employees found out that they had the wrong amount of income withdrawn from their paychecks to cover their 2010 tax bill. Now, because of the glitch, these gay employees will see extra deductions from their paychecks over the course of the next three months, to cover taxes that should have been withdrawn in 2010.

Here are the details on Yale's colossal mess-up.

Yale, wonderfully, offers its LGBT employees the ability to cover their partners on the university's health insurance plan. It's called domestic partner coverage, and Yale has offered this to LGBT employees since 1994. Very cool.

The problem is that, because the federal government refuses to recognize same-sex relationships in any capacity, gay employees have to pay federal taxes on domestic partner health coverage. That's a huge bummer, especially since Yale resides in a state (Connecticut) that recognizes same-sex marriage. It can also be quite expensive for gay employees, costing them thousands of extra dollars that married heterosexual employees don't have to pay.

This disconnect between the state and federal level is what tripped up Yale's payroll system. On a state-level in Connecticut, where same-sex marriages are recognized, gay employees don't have to pay taxes on their domestic partner health coverage. But on a federal level, where same-sex relationships are given the evil eye, gay employees do have to pay taxes on their domestic partner health coverage. A programming error in Yale's payroll system didn't catch the difference, and as a result, 61 gay employees at Yale now find themselves having to pay a year's worth of 2010 taxes in the next three months.

While it may be too late to address this injustice for 2010, one thing Yale could do in the future is follow in the footsteps of schools like Syracuse University, or companies like Google, Facebook, Barclays and Kimpton Hotels. They could do what's called "grossing up," where gay employees who face this tax penalty are compensated a little more. It's a means of off-setting what is really an unjust tax, and a means for an employer to show that they truly care and value their LGBT staff.

Send Yale a message, telling them that one way they can make amends for this colossal payroll mistake is to "gross up" their gay employees, and level the playing field when it comes to workplace equality for LGBT Americans.

Petition Closed

This petition had 408 supporters

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Decision Makers

  • Yale Employee Service Center
  • Mike PeelVice President for Human Resources and Administration
  • Yale Human Resources
  • Hugh PenneySr. Director, Compensation and Benefits
  • Tom ConroyUniversity Press Secretary