{"422271":{"#nid":"422271","#data":{"type":"news","title":"University System Offers Updates on Same Sex Spouse Benefits","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen the United States Supreme Court announced last month that same sex couples would be legally recognized within all 50 states, questions about practical matters such as healthcare coverage soon followed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.ohr.gatech.edu\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Human Resources\u003C\/a\u003E has been sharing updates from the University System of Georgia (USG), which is responsible for working with vendors, updating plan documents, and setting the timeframe for implementation.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EFrom July 13 to September 1, 2015, employees will be able to enroll their same sex spouse in the University System of Georgia benefits plans. Employees who marry after June 26, 2015, will be able to enroll their same sex spouse in the benefits coverage by following the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ohr.gatech.edu\/benefits\/family\u0022\u003Efamily status change procedures\u003C\/a\u003E already in place for the USG benefits plans.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe USG Human Resources office is working with each of its vendors, as well as legal counsel, to identify and update its plan documents to reflect the change. Coverage information and enrollment instructions will be available on July 13.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cAny large-scale change requires a great deal of collaboration and communication,\u201d President G.P. \u201cBud\u201d Peterson said. \u201cI appreciate the work our System representatives have taken on behalf of our employees, working in partnership to make these benefits available to all.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe Supreme Court\u2019s decision also aligns with Tech\u2019s desire to enhance financial security for its employees and remain competitive for top talent in the marketplace.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe Supreme Court ruling on marriage equality opens the door for Georgia Tech to act upon one of the recommendations from the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.provost.gatech.edu\/sites\/provost.gatech.edu\/files\/Report%20of%20the%20GT%20Taskforce%20on%20Family%20Friendly%20Policies.pdf\u0022\u003ETask Force on Family-Friendly Policies\u003C\/a\u003E,\u201d said Institute Diversity Vice President Archie Ervin. \u201cBecause partner benefits are critical in recruiting and retaining the most qualified employees, the Task Force\u2019s recommendation was for the Institute to find a way to extend benefits to same-sex partners, which was not legal in Georgia until now. Thanks to this landmark Supreme Court decision, we can move forward with providing benefits to married same-sex partners in accordance with the University System of Georgia.\u201d \u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEmployees can visit the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.usg.edu\/hr\/benefits\u0022\u003EUSG\u0027s main benefits page\u003C\/a\u003E for information about the system office\u2019s progress in implementing the change, and should continue to check it for the most up-to-date benefits enrollment information related to the ruling. Ongoing updates will also be cross-posted to \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/ohr.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EGeorgia Tech Human Resources\u2019 website\u003C\/a\u003E.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen the United States Supreme Court announced last month that same sex couples would be legally recognized within all 50 states, questions about practical matters such as healthcare coverage soon followed.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From July 13 to September 1, 2015, employees will be able to enroll their same sex spouse in USG benefits plans."}],"uid":"27299","created_gmt":"2015-07-09 09:37:30","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:18:56","author":"Michael Hagearty","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2015-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2015-07-09T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"54724":{"id":"54724","type":"image","title":"USG Logo","body":null,"created":"1449175459","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 20:44:19","changed":"1475894476","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:41:16"}},"media_ids":["54724"],"groups":[{"id":"1182","name":"General"}],"categories":[{"id":"129","name":"Institute and Campus"}],"keywords":[{"id":"118381","name":"faculty affairs"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[{"id":"71871","name":"Campus and Community"}],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:USG-benefits@usg.edu\u0022\u003EUSG-benefits@usg.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}