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Eligibility requirements

Learn more about employee and dependent eligibility for benefits.

Health & Protection eligibility

You

You are eligible for benefits if your payroll is U.S.-based and you’re either a regular full-time employee or a benefits-eligible part-time employee (regularly scheduled to work at least 20 hours per week). 

Eligible employees do not include:

  • Temporary, contract or seasonal employees;
  • Employees hired outside of the United States and who work outside of the United States; and
  • Employees who are members of a bargaining unit whose agreement does not provide for these benefits.

Your spouse

You can cover your legal spouse of the opposite or same gender, including common law spouses in states recognizing common law marriage, or a legally separated spouse in states recognizing legal separation. 

Your domestic partner

Baker Hughes covers domestic partners under eligible Health & Protection benefits. You are required to submit supporting documentation to verify your domestic partner’s eligibility, just as you do for any dependent.

Note: You may add your domestic partner’s children to your benefits, but your domestic partner must also be covered under that same benefit. 

To be eligible, you and your domestic partner must meet the following requirements:

  • You have entered into a state-recognized same- or opposite-gender civil union or registered domestic partnership, or
  • You have not entered into a state-recognized same-or opposite-gender civil union or registered domestic partnership, and you and your partner:
  • ~Are at least 18 years of age and mentally competent to consent to a contract 
  • ~Are financially interdependent 
  • ~Are each other’s sole domestic partners 
  • ~Are living together and share the common necessities of life 
  • ~Are not so closely related that marriage would otherwise be prohibited 
  • ~Are not legally married to, or the domestic partner of, another person either under statutory or common law

Domestic partners and their children are not tax dependents under IRS rules. You must pay the premium for their health benefits on an after-tax basis. The employer portion of the premium is subject to imputed tax. See the Frequently Asked Questions for more information.

Your children

You can cover your eligible dependent children up to age 26 regardless of whether they are married, full-time students or eligible for other group health plan coverage. In addition, you can cover unmarried dependent children up to any age who are supported by you because of mental or physical disability; the disability must have occurred during the period in which they were an eligible dependent (up to age 26) and must previously be covered under the Baker Hughes medical plan prior to age 26. 

Your eligible children include:

  • Your biological children
  • Your adopted children and children placed for adoption
  • Your stepchildren
  • Foster children in your care
  • Any children for whom you have legal custody
  • Any children for whom there is a Qualified Medical Child Support Order (QMCSO)

If both you and your spouse or domestic partner are Baker Hughes employees

In general, every eligible employee may enroll eligible dependents. However, if both you and your spouse or domestic partner are Baker Hughes employees, you may:

  • Choose to enroll yourself as the employee and your spouse or domestic partner as your dependent (or vice versa), or
  • Both you and your spouse or domestic partner can choose to enroll in benefits as employees.

Eligible children may be enrolled as dependents of either you or your spouse or domestic partner, but not both.

Dependent Verification

All Baker Hughes employees are required to provide proof of dependent eligibility for any new dependents* added to coverage under the Baker Hughes Health & Protection benefit plans. If you add dependents to your coverage, you will receive a notification and information on the required proof of eligibility. If you do not submit acceptable documentation by the deadline provided, those dependents will be removed from the plans for which they were enrolled and will not have coverage. Additionally, if a dependent becomes ineligible, you must notify the Benefits Center immediately. Intentionally covering ineligible persons under these plans may be subject to discipline, up to and including termination.

Note: If you are a foreign national on a US work visa, a translated and legalized marriage or birth certificate is required.

*Coverage for domestic partners and their children begins January 1, 2024.

401(k) Plan eligibility

For 401(k) Plan eligibility, see the 401(k) Plan page in this guide.