Company Benefits

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Company Benefits

Coverage of domestic partners among the firms in the Fortune 500 such as Toyota and Wal-Mart is significantly advanced. This situation is because sixty-two of the companies have adopted this plan currently, and they pertain to both the same-sex and opposite-sex relationships, as is the case in the application by Wal-Mart and Toyota (Ferrell 45). Since 2001, Toyota has been at the forefront of advocating competitive domestic benefits packages for all their employees claiming that it is good for business. In the same case, so has Wal-Mart. However, the rules are much stricter to those in domestic partnerships, especially because they have to show proof of them being legally together and not be separated. The primary requirement here about those that are in these relationships is that they have to have an exclusive association, similar to that of marriage. They must also have lasted for at least one year together and with the firm. In addition, they have to show proof that the couple intends to continue sharing the apartment among other marital possessions.

Dissolution of marriage could come at an advantage to an individual. This condition is because, the lower earner becomes entitled to the benefits of the former spouse, and if the person chooses to remarry, the opportunity is lost unless the second marriage ends in divorce or death. In this case, the individual can choose which health benefit between the two spouses’ best benefits him or her. This, therefore, goes to assert that divorced couples are treated equal to married ones, and they get to receive the benefits until retirement. The medical benefits of couples are often shared between the two as observed in the case of the husband of a physically challenged Wal-Mart worker that divorced his wife so that she could get better medical benefits as a single worker.

Several issues disparate from legislation affect the continuity and uninterrupted access to the benefits. These aspects are common theories that control the operations of companies, and among them is the “glass ceiling”, and the “glass escalator” scenario (Liker 24). In the first instance, there is a limited number of how women are promoted, while the second one refers to the speed and the ease as to which the males are promoted. Both of these scenarios demonstrate “the glass wall” that is a theory explaining how certain aspects affect the rise in hierarchy in each gender (Roberts and Natalie 4). Another similar case other than rules that affect this adoption is the view that the “sticky floor” theory may be in considered as an ill treatment to the “pink collar workers” such as nurses and secretaries.

Companies these days are faced with endless lawsuits with most based on unfair dismissal, biases, and other forms of wrongful or unacceptable treatment at the workplace. For instance, Wal-Mart has faced a number of such cases with numerous numbers of female employees suing the company on the claim that they were not chosen for management positions because of their gender (Roberts and Natalie 6). Similarly, Toyota was allegedly said to have let go of over a hundred of its workers due to their religion making this a form of religious bias. This is followed by similar suits by a woman from a disability leave for having pointed out sexual harassment and discrimination against the company.

Overall, the ability to have companies offer health benefits and to accept marriages and partnerships gradually show that there is progress in the corporate world. Despite regulations, however, it is certain that issues of bias, discrimination, and ill-treatment based on issues of religion and gender are also prevalent. Regardless, steps are being taken to amend these loose ends, and, with time, benefits will be much more accessible for all.

Web

Ferrell, O. C., John Fraedrich, and Linda Ferrell. Business Ethics: Ethical Decision Making and Cases. Washington, D.C.: Cengage learning, 2015. Print.

Liker, Jeffrey K. The Toyota Way: 14 Management Principles from the World’s Greatest Manufacturer. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2004. Print.

Roberts, Bryan R, and Natalie Berg. Wal-Mart: Key Insights and Practical Lessons from the World’s Largest Retailer. London: Kogan Page, 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.