Delta assumes tax burden for employees in same-sex relationships

Delta improves domestic partner health benefits, participates in brief urging the Court to support marriage equality

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Apr 02, 2015, 04:00 ET

ATLANTA, April 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) announced updates to its health benefits policy to assist employees in same-sex relationships.

Effective immediately, employees who cover same sex domestic partners under Delta's healthcare plans will no longer be responsible for any federal or state income or payroll tax burden associated with this coverage. Instead, Delta will pay those taxes on behalf of these employees retroactive to Jan. 1, 2015. This will result in parity of the cost of health care coverage between same-sex domestic partners and employees in legally recognized marriages regardless of U.S. location.

During the last two years, many states have begun to recognize same sex marriage. This month, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on and decide whether same-sex marriage bans are prohibited by the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection under the law. A ruling is due by the end of June.

"While this issue remains unsettled on a national level, Delta's commitment to diversity, inclusion and respect is rooted deeply in the airline's values and culture," said Joanne Smith, Delta's Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer. "By providing equality in this critically important area of benefit costs for employees with same-sex domestic partners, we will continue to build a great place to work."

In addition to the airline's announcement, Delta also recently participated in a brief urging the Court to support marriage equality.

On a global scale, Delta is committed to maintaining and supporting a culture of inclusion. As the largest employer in Georgia and one of the largest employers in Minnesota, Delta extends domestic partner benefits to its employees, including health, dental and life insurance, as well as pension and flight benefits.

Throughout the years, Delta and its employees have continued to build and expand its strong relationship with the LGBT community around the world. Delta supports regional Pride events in cities nationwide including Atlanta, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York City and Seattle with hundreds of employees marching to raise money and awareness for HIV/AIDS. Delta continues to be a proud underwriter of the GLAAD Media Awards and Platinum sponsor for the Atlanta HRC Dinner. Delta is the official airline of amfAR, the Foundation for AIDS Research, one of the most recognized and important organizations fighting the AIDS epidemic worldwide. Additionally, Delta employees actively support and participate in DEEN, the Delta Employee Equality Network, a voluntary organization committed to making Delta the best place to work by promoting inclusion, respect for differences, equal opportunity and diversity in the workplace.

About Delta

Delta Air Lines serves more than 170 million customers each year. Delta was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 World's Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fourth time in five years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for four consecutive years, a first for any airline. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 321 destinations in 58 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.