An insightful article from the University of Virginia’s campus daily examines the school’s policies toward LGBT employees – and finds it lacking.
Tom Christensen writes that although sexual orientation is included in the University’s equal opportunity and affirmative action statement, it provides no benefits or support to LGBT employees – and doesn’t even track sexual orientation of its employees the way it tracks race, gender and other qualities.
Though the University says it can’t give domestic partner benefits to LGBT employees under state law, Christensen notes that other universities – most notably the University of Michigan- have found ways around such laws.
The article says:
Although the University blames current Virginia codes for barring it from offering health benefits to the partners of same-sex employees, Claire Guthrie Gastañaga, a former chief deputy attorney general for the commonwealth who now runs her own consulting firm, suggests that the University does in fact have the ability to extend health benefits to same-sex partners despite the state’s current codes.
Under Virginia code 23-69, the University is defined as a corporation. Gastañaga said this definition gives the University the ability to exercise certain corporate powers, such as extending health benefits to same-sex partners. Gastañaga also noted that, while the University is subject to the control of the General Assembly and the Virginia constitution, Virginia legislators would have to pass a law that specifically prohibits the University from extending health benefits to same-sex partners to prohibit such an action.
“It’s very broad language,” Gastañaga said of Virginia’s marriage codes.
