Walmart Stores said yesterday it will offer health-insurance benefits to domestic partners of its US employees starting next year, following the lead of other major companies.
The world’s largest retailer, based in Bentonville, Ark., also plans to begin to offer vision care to its eligible employees and their dependents, according to information the retailer sent to workers this week.
Walmart is the country’s single biggest employer outside of the federal government. More than half of its 1.3 million US employees are on its health-care plans. The company said it does not know how many workers would use the new benefits, which also include free hip and knee joint replacements.
Walmart’s extension of health insurance to domestic partners comes after the Supreme Court in June forced the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal. The Supreme Court also paved the way for same-sex marriage in California.
“Since we operate in all 50 states, we thought it was important to develop a single definition for all Walmart associates in the US,” spokesman David Tovar said.
Wal-Mart is behind many other large companies on domestic partner coverage.
Sixty-two percent of the Fortune 500 already offer health benefits for domestic partners, according to the Human Rights Campaign’s 2013 Corporate Equality Index.