Domestic Partner Benefits - The Next Generation
by Cynthia 0. Goldstein, San Francisco Human Rights Commission

As the struggle for same-gender marriage continues, many municipalities and businesses around the country have begun to offer domestic partner benefits to their employees.  This extends to employees with domestic partners some or all of the same benefits extended to employees with spouses.  Employers do this for a variety of reasons: to attract the widest pool of qualified job applicants, to diversity their employee population, or simply because of an understanding that equal pay for equal work should not be denied to employees solely because of their sexual orientation or relationship status.

Last November, the City of San Francisco adopted a new law that takes the idea of domestic partner benefits a giant leap forward.  This law, which takes effect on June 1, 1997, states that in order for a business to obtain a contract with the City (and capture some of those valuable City dollars), it must provide equal benefits to employees with spouses and employees with domestic partners.  This doesn't require that a business offer any employee benefits, or a particular variety of benefits.  But, if the company does offer some benefits which extend to the spouses of employees, it must also extend equal benefits to the domestic partners of employees.  The law does not affect businesses that do not contract with the City.

The law, referred to as the Nondiscrimination in Benefits Ordinance, applies to all of the benefits offered by businesses holding contracts with the City and County of San Francisco.  Medical insurance, bereavement and family medical leave, pension programs, employee assistance programs and employee discounts are some of the most common benefits affected.  Recognizing that it is not always possible for City Contractors to provide totally equal benefits, the law allows City Contractors to pay employees what it would cost to provide benefits to the domestic partner in the event that, despite taking reasonable measures to secure equal benefits, a City Contractor is unable to do so.  In addition, where it costs more to provide benefits to one group than the other, the law allows the City Contractor to pass that excess cost on to those employees for whom benefits cost more.  Again, this is in line with the equal pay for equal work' philosophy of the ordinance.

The law defines a domestic partner as any person who has a currently registered domestic partnership with a state or local governmental registry.  Partners can be in same-sex or opposite-sex couples, depending on what is allowed by the governmental registry.  To date, there are approximately two dozen such registries around the county.  While not required by law, City Contractors can also institute an internal domestic partnership registry, which can be especially useful if they have offices in locations where no governmental registry exists.  This way, all company employees have equal access to benefits.

Even though it has been less than six months since the law was passed, it already has had a ripple effect across the country.  Great change in the employee benefits world has already begun with all sizes of businesses and non-profits taking steps to institute domestic partner coverage for their employees. The market for domestic partner insurance has been stimulated, causing an increase in the number of insurance providers willing to offer domestic partner coverage -- even to small employee groups. And the impact of this law will continue to grow as cities across the country, including Seattle and New York, consider implementing similar legislation.

The San Francisco 49ers have signed on and negotiations are underway with United Airlines, the Bank of America, and the Catholic Church.  The Nondiscrimination in Benefits Ordinance is enforced by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. The Commission has developed resource materials designed to assist City Contractors in their compliance efforts. These materials include sample work place policies, fact sheets answering the most commonly asked questions, and lists of domestic partner registries and of insurance companies offering domestic partnership coverage.

For more information on the law and for copies of the resource materials, contact the Human Rights Commission at (415)252-2500, or check out their web page at http://www.sfhumannghts/lgbth.org.