Washington –Aug. 27 Merrill Lynch announced to its workers Thursday that it will offer them domestic partnership benefits starting next year, becoming the first global financial services corporation to extend such coverage, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

The company, based in New York, will offer the benefits to same-sex domestic partners and to adult "extended family members," such as children, parents and in-laws if they are tax dependents as defined by the Internal Revenue Code. The policy will cover Merrill Lynch's 60,000 employees, including more than 47,000 domestic workers.

"Merrill Lynch joins with some of the most forward-thinking businesses in America by extending these benefits to their employees," said Kim I. Mills, HRC's education director who oversees workplace issues.

"Offering domestic partnership benefits is a low-cost, high-return means of equalizing the workplace for gay people. And a company with the stature and business acumen of Merrill Lynch would not make this move unless it made good business sense."

Other major U.S. corporations that offer domestic partner benefits to their lesbian and gay employees include IBM, Walt Disney, Eastman Kodak, Sun Microsystems and AT&T. Between 10 percent and 13 percent of all U.S. corporations now offer these benefits and, according to HRC's research, the trend is increasing.

"We receive word virtually every week of another company adding these benefits," Mills said. "And we get anywhere from 10 to 30 requests each week from employees or employers who are looking into offering them." The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support, and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest, and safe at home, at work, and in the community.