By Gwen Moran

This article originally appeared on Diversityinc.com on February 22, 2006
 

Dealing with a divorce or separation can be difficult for any employee. Often, employees feel torn between sharing the details of their personal lives with a boss or colleague and keeping a stiff upper lip in the interest of maintaining a professional image.

Separations can be even more traumatic for employees with same-sex life partners. They experience the same upheaval and sadness but may not feel comfortable seeking help from employers to cope with such off-the-job problems. Employees with same-sex life partners also may not be aware of the resources many employers offer to help them cope with problems such as separation.

"Going through something as traumatic as a life partner leaving can have an impact on one's work," says Tasia McCullough-Johnson, manager, global work-life initiative at Eastman Kodak (No. 1 in the Top 10 Companies for GLBT Employees). "Any time you are going through grief or loss, or just a personal situation that may impact your work, you should take advantage of the resources available to you."

Kodak, McCullough says, makes several options available to employees who are going through a breakup. It offers confidential telephone consultations, online access to resources and referrals covering topics such as divorce and separation, grief counseling and stress management, as well as group seminars on family issues and financial planning. McCullough says flexible work schedules allow employees and their supervisors to accommodate both business and personal circumstances that require time off. "Some employees will navigate through these situations more easily because they have family structures or friends," says McCullough-Johnson. "But all employees need to have options available to help them."

At Kaiser Permanente (No. 7 in the Top 10 Companies for GLBT Employees), counseling services are part of the mix, but peer support also is a priority. The KP Pride staff association is a group of GLBT employees who provide resources and support, such as a list of community resources for employees dealing with various problems. In addition, members provide firsthand advice from their experiences.

"Chances are that if it's happening to one of our [GLBT] employees, someone in the KP Pride staff association has already gone through it and is ready to help people chart a course for dealing with it," says Ronald Knox, vice president and chief diversity officer of Kaiser Permanente.

In cases where the couple has children, the situation may become more complex and the employee may need to access resources for single parents. For those cases, Kodak offers seminars and informational resources as well as flexible scheduling to accommodate childcare requirements. Both Kodak and Kaiser have a variety of childcare resources and referral options.

When a life-partner relationship ends, there also may be administrative duties that need to be addressed with an employer. Companies that offer domestic-partner benefits, such as Kodak and Kaiser, need to know if a relationship has ended and the employee's partner no longer is eligible for benefits coverage.

In cases of divorce or separation involving opposite-sex couples, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA), passed in 1986, gives spouses the option of continuing insurance coverage for up to 18 months. According to David Kassnoff, a spokesperson for Eastman Kodak, although COBRA laws don't generally extend to domestic partners, the company extends domestic-partner benefits for a similar period of time in cases of domestic-partner breakups.

Inclusive companies provide the resources that employees need to address sweeping changes in their lives, making the resources equally available to individuals who are going through a divorce, legal separation or domestic-partner breakup.

"Companies need to make the employee aware of the full array of services that are available to them," says Knox. "The employee should choose the one that he or she has the greatest deal of comfort with but should choose something as a starting point. We may very well end up in a different forum to resolve the issue, but it's important to reach out to begin the process."