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Compiled by GayToday
 NGLTF's Elizabeth Toledo |
Washington, D.C.--As the definition of a traditional nuclear family continues
to significantly evolve, eight states now offer some form of domestic
partnership benefits to state employees, according to a seven-page report
issued today by the Family Policy Project of the National Gay and Lesbian
Task Force. The report may be read or downloaded by visiting
www.ngltf.org/pi/dpbstate.htm |
The eight states are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts,
New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington.
Two of the states--Delaware and Massachusetts--provide only bereavement leave
and family sick leave.The remaining six states offer more extensive benefits,
including health care.
"The movement for domestic partnership benefits is rooted in the democratic
notion of equal pay for equal work," said NGLTF Executive Director Elizabeth Toledo.
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"With benefits comprising nearly 40 percent of a worker's compensation,
employees who can obtain benefits for their spouses are, in effect, paid
higher than employees in relationships which are not legally recognized.
Domestic partnership benefits, then, are a means of working toward greater
economic justice in the workplace."
The NGLTF report contains information on what year each state's domestic
partner plan was enacted, who is covered, what benefits are provided,
how many employees have taken advantage of the benefits, and the contact
information for obtaining more information about the DP program in each state.
Among the report's findings:
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Five states--Delaware, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon and Vermont--
offer benefits to all unmarried partners, same-sex and opposite sex.
Three states--California, Connecticut and Washington--offer benefits to
same-sex partners only.
Opposite-sex partners have taken advantage of the benefits much more
often than same-sex partners. For example, in Vermont, 5.2 percent of the
workforce (339 employees out of a total state workforce of 6,500) have
identified as domestic partners and are receiving health care benefits
for their partners. Of these 339 individuals, 291 are in unmarried, opposite-sex
partnerships and 48 are in same-sex partnerships.
Not surprisingly because of its large population and length of time it
has offered benefits, New York has the highest number of state employees
signed up to receive domestic partnership benefits. Some 1,992 employees -
about 1 percent of the total workforce of 200,000--are receiving health care
coverage for their partners.
Paula Ettelbrick, NGLTF Family Policy Director, who authored the report, said
the new information on state domestic partner benefits is beneficial both as a tool
for researchers and for advocates in both the private and public sectors who might
be pursuing DP benefits. She noted that the eight state governments that offer
domestic partnership benefits are leaders in the DP movement, not just because of
the size of their workforce, but also because public employers often are willing,
if not required, to divulge the number of participants in the programs and their
cost.
"This documentation allows policy makers, advocates and researchers information
necessary to assess the costs to other employers, especially state governments,
of adopting these policies," Ettelbrick said.
"These eight states are at the forefront of recognizing that the traditional nuclear
family is no longer made up of a man, a woman and one or more children.
Today's 'traditional' family also includes same-sex couples, with or without children, as well as
opposite-sex couples who for whatever reason have chosen not to marry or remarry.
All families deserve access to health care and other benefits, regardless of their
individual circumstance. That's just fairness in the workplace, no more and no less."
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