For Third Consecutive Year, Conceive Magazine Names Verizon to Publication's List of 50 Best Fertility- and Adoption-Friendly Workplaces

NEW YORK - Conceive Magazine has again named Verizon among the 50 Best Companies in the country for offering superior family-building benefits such as financial assistance for adoptions and health insurance coverage for fertility diagnosis and treatment. This is the magazine's third annual Best Companies list and the third consecutive year that Verizon has earned a spot.

The 50 Best Companies list, which is featured in the May/June 2009 issue of Conceive, focuses on employers that offer the best benefits for women and men hoping to be parents. The magazine surveyed more than 200 employers to develop the list.

Kim Hahn, founder of Conceive, said: "Fertility treatments and adoptions can be costly. In the current economic climate, we applaud those companies who recognize how important it is to help employees build their families."

Verizon's family- and adoption-friendly benefits include $10,000 per fulltime employee per adoption, with no lifetime cap, and fertility drug coverage under the company's prescription plans.

"We want to remain an employer of choice," said Magda Yrizarry, vice president for workplace culture, diversity and compliance at Verizon, "so we are focused on providing meaningful benefits to our employees. It's the right thing to do and it helps us retain top talent at Verizon, which ultimately helps deliver greater value to our customers and shareholders."

Verizon has numerous programs that benefit employees and their families. For example, in 2008, the company provided employees with 37,500 hours in emergency backup care for employees' children - time that employees would have otherwise had to use as vacation or personal time.  The company also offers employees child care and adult care locater services as well as a Geriatric Care Management program.

Verizon is equally committed to creating personal and professional opportunities for its employees, and the company's employee development, education and training budget has totaled approximately $1 billion over the past few years. Last year alone, more than 29,000 employees benefitted from $118 million in tuition assistance, which prepays 100 percent of approved tuition and fees at accredited institutions, up to $8,000 per year, per employee. The company's commitment to training and investing in the education and professional development of its employees again placed the company on Training Magazine's Training Top 125 list of companies that have the best training programs for their employees.

Earlier this year, the Dave Thomas Foundation named Verizon an industry leader for its adoption benefits.  Verizon was also named to Working Mother magazine's list of Best Companies for Multicultural Women; and the National Association for Female Executives named Verizon to its list of 2009 NAFE Top 50 Companies for Executive Women, which spotlights corporations with practices and employment records that benefit women and encourage their advancement to top management positions.

For the fourth consecutive year, the Women's Business Enterprise National Council named Verizon to the council's annual list of America's Top Corporations for Women's Business Enterprise. Verizon has also consistently been named to DiversityInc magazine's list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity, earning the No. 1 ranking in 2006 and 2008.

For more information about Verizon's commitment to employees and customers, visit www.verizon.com/about.  

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers.  Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 86 million customers nationwide.  Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network.  Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion.  For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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