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Internet giant Google has announced it is now paying its gay and lesbian staff more than its heterosexual employees in the United States.
The search engine is compensating same-sex partners for the higher taxes they pay on domestic partners health benefits.
The company said in its blog today that it would be grossing-up imputed taxes on health insurance benefits for all same-sex domestic partners in the US.
Same-sex couples who include domestic partners on their health insurance pay federal taxes.
Married couples do not have to pay taxes on spousal health benefits.
Google is not offering any extra pay to heterosexual domestic partners, because the company said heterosexual employees have the option of avoiding the tax by getting married.
Daryl Herrschaft, director of the Workplace Project at Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, said Google's policy was a step in the right direction.
"They're picking up the slack where the federal government hasn't recognised the reality of diversity in the workforce today," Herrschaft said.
"This is eliminating existing discrimination that gays and lesbians face in the workplace as a result of federal law that doesn't acknowledge their families."
But Focus on the Family, a Christian organisation aimed at providing practical help for marriage and parenting, said the policy falls short of its goal to offer equal benefits to employees.
"If Google wants to be truly fair to its employees, it should consider extra compensation to married heterosexuals who are bitten every April 15 by the marriage-penalty tax," spokesman Gary Schneeberger said.
"How is offering more money to only one group to offset a perceived inequity not a form of discrimination against those groups not fortunate enough to receive such bonuses?"
