Same-sex married couples get honeymoons from Milan, Italy, business

MILAN, Italy, Aug. 2 (UPI) -- A call center in Milan, Italy, said employees entering same-sex marriages will get the same 14-day paid holiday typically granted to heterosexual employees.

The firm Call & Call, with a workforce of 2,300 in six locations across Italy, follows the policy set by large multinational firms including Citibank and IKEA, the Italian news website The Local.it reported Friday.

Owner Umberto Costamagna, a Catholic, arranged the policy with workers' unions after a gay staff member asked for time off to marry in Germany, and claimed it had the blessing of his priest.

"I said (to the priest), I will do this thing. Absolve me! He replied, "There's nothing wrong with that,'" Costamagna joked -- a reference to Pope Francis' comment this week that "if a person is gay and seeks God and has good will, who am I to judge him?"

Italy does not recognize same-sex unions. Proposed legislation failed in 2007, but a new bill was submitted in May, the day after neighboring France had its first legal same-sex wedding.

"We are very behind in terms of civil rights," said the bill's sponsor, Giancarlo Galan.