Report: Walmart makes progressive move

Walmart will be making a progressing move and extending health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners of its U.S. employees starting next year, according to a Reuters report.

The report stated that the retailer will also offer vision care to its eligible employees and their dependents.

To be eligible for coverage, dependents must be legal spouses, not legally separated or a domestic partner of the same or opposite gender in an ongoing, exclusive relationship similar to marriage for at least 12 months with the intention to continue sharing a household indefinitely, spokesman David Tovar was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The move follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in June which forces the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages in states where it is legal.

"Since we operate in all 50 states, we thought it was important to develop a single definition for all Wal-Mart associates in the U.S.," Tovar was quoted as saying.

The Reuters report found that 62% of the Fortune 500 already offer health benefits for same-sex domestic partners, citing the Human Rights Campaign's 2013 Corporate Equality Index.

Click here to read the Reuters report.