United States
Bureau of National Affairs (BNA)
Civil Service
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
Department of Housing (HUD)
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
House of Representatives
Office of Personnel Management (1994)
Benefits: Sick leave only, but can be used for any health care or funeral.
Alabama
No known benefits.
Alaska
Alaska State
Note: In October 2005, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the state and the Municipality of
Anchorage, must offer benefits to same-sex partners of public employees. Denying such
benefits was unconstitutional. In January 5, 2006, the state asked for at least a year to
deal with the complexities. Gov. Frank Murkowski has vowed to fight the ruling by amending
the Alaska Constitution if necessary. If granted, the year’s delay could give him the
time to mount an opposition.
Juneau, Alaska
American Samoa
No known benefits.
Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona (August 1, 2000)
Benefits: Medical, life and other insurance benefits; offered to same-and opposite-sex
couples.
Note: To qualify, employees must have lived together for at least one year and present
evidence of financial interdependence; not required of legally married partners. All five
unions negotiated the benefits into their two-year contracts. Most union benefits are
routinely extended to non-union employees to save the city extra administration costs.
Pima County, Arizona
Benefits: Medical, dental.
Note: Survived suit by county attorney’s office; judge ruled, March 1998, to allow
benefits slotted to begin eight months earlier.
Scottsdale, Arizona (2001)
Tempe, Arizona (July 1999)
Benefits: Same-and opposite-sex couples.
Tucson, Arizona (1997)
Benefits: Same-sex only.
Note: Must sign affidavit stating they are committed to a long-term, monogamous relationship.
Arkansas
No known benefits.
California
California State (January 2000)
Note 1: Previous to the 2001 bill, the registry offered no benefits to the public, but there
was medical coverage with California Public Employees Retirement System for same-sex domestic
partners who signed the state registry; $10 registry fee. Registry requires couples to
cohabit and accept responsibility for each other’s living expenses - not necessarily
requirements of legal marriage. Implemented January 1, 2000.
Note 2: California offers extensive benefits through their domestic
partnership registration. When it first became law on January 1, 2000, there were very
limited benefits. It was expanded, on January 1, 2002, to include 12 more benefits. It was
again expanded on January 1, 2003 to include scores of benefits and responsibilities.
[See our article: Domestic Partner Registration: The California Approach]
Note 3: On January 1, 2007, eight laws took effect which address gay and lesbian issues,
including: tax filings, court proceedings, discrimination protections, funding for
domestic-violence prevention among same-sex couples, and allowing registered domestic
partners to file joint state income-tax returns in 2008.
Also, any business or other entity that contracts with the state must
provide the same benefits to domestic partners as it does to married spouses, similar to a
policy first implemented by San Francisco in 1997, as well as by Los Angeles, Berkeley,
Oakland, and San Mateo County.
Note 4: All the new laws were sponsored by Equality California.
Alameda County, California
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
Alameda County, California
Benefits: Medical.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District, California
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), San Francisco, California
Berkeley, California (1984)
Note: The first municipality to offer benefits on December 5, 1984, by an 8-1 vote of the
Berkeley City Council.
City requires contractors to provide domestic partner benefits.
Berkeley Unified School District, California
Claremont, California
Fremont, California
Benefits: Medical. For police officers.
Note: Extends coverage through the state’s Public Employees’ Retirement System. To
be paid out of existing funds, so does not impact the budget.
Healdsburg, California
Benefits: Medical.
Laguna Beach, California
Benefits: Medical.
Laguna Beach Unified School District, California (2001)
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite sex partners. Required to cohabit, be in a
monogamous relationship, and financially support each other - NOT required of legally married
partners. Implemented September 12, 2001.
Los Alamos National Laboratory, California
Los Angeles, California (1999)
Note: All business contracted for more than $5,000 with Los Angeles
that offer benefits to their opposite-sex married workers must also offer them to same-sex
partners. Adopted November 1999. L.A. City strengthened the ordinance on February 12,
2003]
Los Angeles, California
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite-sex partners.
Los Angeles County, California (August 2003)
Benefits: Medical, dental. For same- and opposite-sex partners. Added death benefits for
partners of retired county employees on August 26, 2003.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan, California Transportation Authority
Los Angeles Unified School District, California
Marin County, California
Benefits: Medical.
Modesto, California
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, cancer or life insurance; same-sex only.
Note: Will not cost the district anything because employees get up to $223 a month in their
paychecks to buy their own coverage from the California Public
Employees’ Retirement System.
Oakland, California (2002)
Note: All contractors who do at least $25,000 worth of business with
the city, and who already pay for benefits for their employees’ spouses, are required to
extend equal benefits to domestic partners who are registered with the city or another
government agency. Implemented summer 2002.
Oakland, California (1997)
Benefits: Dental, vision.
Note: While adopting a definition of domestic partners in 1993, the city was unable to
wrangle a full medical benefit package from the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) for
employees’ partners until 1997. Benefits were originally for same-sex only, but a court
ruling made it available for all after April 1998.
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, California
Note: Requires contractors to provide domestic partner benefits.
Petaluma, California
Benefits: Vision, dental, bereavement, sick leave.
Note: Couples required to live together at least six consecutive months; not required of
legally married partners.
Sacramento, California
Sacramento County, California (September 2002)
Benefits: Medical, dental; required to sign California state domestic partner registration;
same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples over age 62.
Note: Eemployer does not pay any part of benefits, thereby costing workers a monthly $200-500
for medical and nearly $40 for dental; adopted September 11, 2002.
Sacramento Para Transit
San Bruno, California (February 2001)
Benefits: Medical, dental.
Note 1: Bereavement coverage was being negotiated in union contracts.
Note 2: Affidavit requires partners to be responsible for each other’s common welfare,
including basic living expenses - defined as “the cost of basic food, shelter and any
other expense of a domestic partner.” Neither partner may have had another
domestic partner within the past twelve months. None of these restrictions are required
of legally married partners.
San Diego, California
Benefits: Medical)
San Francisco, California (city & county) (1996)
Note: All business contracted with San Francisco that offer benefits to
their opposite-sex married workers must also offer them to same-sex partners. The city
reported that personnel costs to companies increase by less than 2 percent. Adopted
1996.
San Francisco Chamber of Commerce
San Jose, California (March 2004)
Benefits: Medical.
Note: Originally allowed workers who had entered “into marriages which are valid in the
jurisdiction” where the vows were performed to participate in the city’s benefits
program. In December 2005 a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge ruled that San Jose
cannot offer benefits to the same-sex partners of its employees based only on a marriage
certificate. It can still offer them based on obtaining the state domestic partnership
registration.
San Jose School District, California
Note: Certain unionized employees; bereavement and/or family illness leave.
San Luis Obispo, California
Benefits: Medical.
San Mateo County, California
Benefits: For municipal employees.
Note: Requires contractors to provide domestic partner benefits.
Santa Barbara, California
Note: Suit failed to prevent benefits in December 1998. It was brought by “Citizens for
Accountable Government” which is aided by the American Center for Law and Justice
(ACLJ); Pat Robertson, founder.
Santa Cruz, California
Benefits: Medical.
Santa Cruz County, California
Benefits: Medical.
Santa Cruz Metropolitan Transit System, California
Santa Cruz Operation, California
Santa Rosa, California
Benefits: Medical.
Sebastopol, California (2003)
Benefits: Medical.
Sonoma County, California (2003)
Benefits: Medical; both same-and opposite-sex.
Ventura County, California
Benefits: Medical.
West Hollywood, California (1985)
Benefits: Medical.
Note: West Hollywood may have been the first, in 1985, to use the phrase “Domestic
Partner.”
Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado
Denver, Colorado (1997)
Benefits: Medical. Implemented January 1997.
Note: Two city residents sued, claiming the city violated state law. The judge threw out the
case. The Appeals Court ruled in Oct. 1998; “The power to grant group health insurance
benefits to spousal equivalents is a matter of local concern subject only to the limitations
imposed by the city charter.”
Eagle County, Colorado (2007)
Benefits: Medical. Approved in 2006, impbrownnted 2007.
Note: County Human Resources Director Nora Fryklund: “We’re just trying to be fair
to everyone who works here.”
Glendale, Colorado (2002)
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision. For same-sex only. Required to be a “committed
relationship,” live together and to show three forms of proof that they are financially
dependent upon one another - not required of legal marriage. Implemented 2002.
Connecticut
Connecticut State (2000)
Benefits: Medical, retirement; does NOT include family sick leave, state or federal FMLA,
family funeral benefits and others. For same-sex state workers only. The domestic partner of
the employee may be eligible for the pre-retirement death benefit if the employee had a
Domestic Partnership Affidavit on file with the Retirement Division for at least one year.
Requirements: “must reside together, must be mutually dependent upon each other” -
not required of legal marriage; effective March 10, 2000.
Note: Retirement benefits resulted from arbitration. Extended to all classified and
unclassified employees (including employees of higher education, judicial and legislative)
not represented by a collective bargaining agent.
Note: As of October 1, 2005, all Connecticut businesses must allow
workers to add same-sex partners as beneficiaries to their employment benefits. The law
requires that “parties to a civil union shall have all the same benefits, protections
and responsibilities as granted to spouses in a marriage, which is defined as the union of
one man and one woman.”
Connecticut has extensive benefits through a Civil Union process.
[See our article: “Civil Unions”]
Hartford, Connecticut
Mansfield, Connecticut
Newington, Connecticut School District (July 2005)
Benefits: Medical, same-sex only; negotiated union contract mid-December 2004, effective July
1, 2005.
Delaware
Delaware State
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
District of Columbia
District of Columbia (2001)
Benefits: Medical, family and medical leave. For both same- and opposite-sex couples.
Note: Requires partners to pay the full cost of benefits. The same law for benefits also
created a domestic partner registration which allows familial rights at hospitals, nursing
homes and adoption agencies. In addition, it gives a tax break to private sector employers
that offer health insurance benefits to domestic partners. Known as the District of Columbia
Health Care Benefits Expansion Act of 1992, it was blocked by “social riders” the
U.S. Congress has attached to D.C. budget bills since 1992. It was finally allowed to be
enacted in December 2001.
Florida
Broward County, Florida (1999)
Benefits: Medical, extends COBRA-like benefits.
Note: January 1999, the County Commission offered preference points to county contract
bidders who extend spousal benefits to unmarried employees. In September, 2000, a Florida
appeals court rejected a legal challenge to the ordinance by the Northstar Legal Foundation,
a radical right law firm in Fairfax, Virginia.
Broward County School District, Florida
Delray Beach, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Florida Attorney General’s Office (2007)
Benefit: Sick leave. In December 2007, Bill McCollum implemented the policy allowing for
employees of the AG to care for domestic partners. Policy implemented at the suggestion request
of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs (2008)
Benefits: Sick leave - January 2008.
Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Florida (2007)
Benefits: Sick leave - effective October 2007.
Note: DFS employs 2,560 Floridians. Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink
implemented the policy at the request of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council.
Gainesville, Florida
Benefits: Medical, extends COBRA-like benefits.
Health Care District of Palm Beach County, Florida (2007)
Benefits: Medical - October 2008.
Hialeah, Florida
Juno Beach (2008)
Benefits: Bereavement leave.
Note: Revised definition of “immediate family” to include an employee’s “significant other” for
purpose of bereavement, January 2008.
Jupiter, Town of, Florida (2007)
Benefits: Medical, dental, family leave.
Note: Voted by the Jupiter Town Council on March 6, 2007.
Key West, Florida (1998)
Benefits: Medical, extends COBRA-like benefits to municipal employees. For same-sex only.
Implemented 1998.
Lake Worth, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Miramar, Florida (2001)
Miami, Florida (2009)
Benefits: Medical.
Note 1: The City of Miami Commission voted 5-0 to adopt the Domestic Partnership Ordinance
on June 11, 2009.
Note 2: Commissioner Marc Sarnoff: “Providing employment benefits, including health care, to the domestic
partners of our City of Miami employees is a common sense idea that has been far too long in coming. This
is nothing more than treating people equally. I am proud to say our City is doing the right thing.”
Note 3: Chairman Commissioner Joe Sanchez: “This allows us to recruit and retain the best and brightest
workers for the City of Miami by offering benefits to domestic partners. This reaffirms our strong belief
that all people are equal in Miami, the City of diversity.”
Note 4: Adoption of the benefits were supported by the efforts of Safeguarding American Values for
Everyone (SAVE) Dade’s Executive Director C.J. Ortuno, former Executive Director Heddy Pena, SAVE’s
Political Committee, and many volunteers, including those from Equality Florida. Assistance in developing
the ordinance language came from the LGBT Advocacy Project of the ACLU of Florida.
Miami Beach, Florida (2001)
Benefits: Sick, annual, bereavement leave.
Note 1: In November 2001, voters approved giving medical benefits to city employees’
domestic partners, and also approved offering survivor benefits to the domestic partners of
police officers and firefighters.
Note 2: In 2006 the City of Miami Beach passed an ordinance, which
requires businesses with 51 or more employees, and contracts worth more than $100,000,
to offer benefits to domestic partners their own employees.
Miami-Dade County, Florida (2008)
Benefits: Medical.
Note: Voted in May 2008.
Miami-Dade County School District, Florida
Monroe County, Florida (1998)
Benefits: Medical, sick, bereavement, parental leave; implemented 1998;
extends COBRA-like benefits.
North Miami, Florida (2006)
Benefits: Medical. For both same- and opposite-sex couples. Offered since October 2006.
Note: On December 12, 2007, the North Miami City Council adopted, by a
5-0 vote, a new Procurement Ordinance which requires contractors with 40 or more employees,
bidding on contracts worth more than $75,000, to provide domestic partner benefits to their own
employees. Mayor Kevin Burns took the lead on introducing the legislation.
Office of the Clerk and Comptroller, Florida (2007)
Benefits: Medical, providing employees’ domestic partners and children with the same coverage as
is provided to married employees’ families under COBRA - June 2007.
Office of the Property Appraiser, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Office of the Supervisor of Elections, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Office of the Tax Collector, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Palm Beach County Community College (2008)
Benefits: Medical - September 2008.
Palm Beach County, Florida (2006)
Benefits: Medical, sick and bereavement leave, life insurance, long term disability, dental, and
vision voted October 18, 2005 and effective on January 1, 2006.
Note: Under a plan adopted by the County Commissioners in 2005, County employees with domestic
partners have paid monthly premiums of $441 for the family health insurance coverage, while
married employees paid only $92 for the same insurance. When the plan was adopted,
Commissioner Karen Marcus promised to revisit the premium differential within a year.
“After examining the cost, the County Commissioners have concluded that there is no
reason to charge employees with domestic partners significantly higher premiums for the
family coverage,” said Rand Hoch, Founder of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council,
a civil rights organization encouraging domestic partnership issues.
On October 3, 2006, the Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to
reduce health insurance premiums charged to County employees with domestic partners so that all
employees will pay the same premium for family coverage.
Palm Beach County Board of County Commissioners, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Florida (2007)
Benefits: Medical, sick leave, bereavement leave, employee assistance plan, no life insurance.
For both same- and opposite-sex couples - August 2007.
Palm Beach County School District, Florida (2005; 2008 ruling equalized premium rates)
Benefits: Medical.
Note 1: In February 2008, the Palm Beach County School Board unanimously voted to expand the
definition of “family” in the School District's Leave of Absence policy to include employees’
domestic partners and their children. The District has a total of 21,000 employees.
This action came about due to extensive lobbying by the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council
(PBCHRC), beginning in 2005. However, the district charged employees with domestic partners at
least $4,200 per year more for the same coverage.
Note 2: In September 2008, medical coverage was extended to children of employees’ domestic
partners, effective January 1, 2009.
This action was due to the PBCHRC filing discrimination charges. The Palm Beach County Office of
Equal Opportunity ruled in 2008 that — while the School District claimed it was not bound
by county ordinance — the District was in violation of the Palm Beach Equal Employment
Ordinance, which makes it illegal for an employer to discriminate in the provision of
employement benefits, regardless of an employee’s marital status.
Palm Beach County Solid Waste Authority, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (2007)
Benefits: Sick and bereavement leave; access to the city’s Employee Assistance Program.
The City Council directed the City Manager to provide the “no-cost” benefits on
June 28, 2007 - effective November 2007.
Palm Beach Office of the Public Defender, Florida
Palm-Tran (Palm Beach County), Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Port of Palm Beach, Florida
Benefits: Medical.
Seacoast Utility Authority, Palm Beach Gardens (2008)
Benefits: Medical, dental, disability, life insurance - November 2008.
Tampa, Florida (2004)
Benefits: Medical insurance for all city employees.
Note: Mayor Pam Iorio issued an Executive Order on March 11, 2004.
Tequesta, Florida (2008)
Benefits: Expanded the definition of “immediate family” to include domestic partners.
Effective in contracts through September 30, 2010, between the Village of Tequesta and the
Professional Fire Fighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, the Communications Workers of
America, and the Palm Beach County Police Benevolent Association.
West Palm Beach, Florida (1992)
Benefits: Medical; for both same-and opposite-sex couples; includes extending benefits the
same as COBRA; effective January 1, 2007.
Note: The Federal COBRA law applies only to married employees – not to employees with
domestic partners. When a City employee dies, the surviving domestic partner will have the
same option as a surviving married spouse to continue on the city’s health insurance
plan for up to eighteen months. A domestic partner will pay the same premium under the
city’s new policy that a surviving spouse would pay under COBRA.
Wilton Manors, Florida
Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia (1999)
Benefits: Medical. Instituted 1993, implemented 1999. Pensions instituted 2006.
Note: The first ordinance, which recognized domestic partners as “a family
relationship,” state supreme court declared “unconstitutional.” The second
1997 ordinance was declared legal. State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine refused to
approve the ordinance because of his personal bias. The city of Atlanta and Atlanta city
Councilmember Cathy Woolard (the state’s first openly gay or lesbian official) sued
Oxendine to force him to approve the ordinance. On Sept. 22, 1999, the court ordered Oxendine
to lift his statewide prohibition against insurance companies issuing policies covering
domestic partners.
Mayor Shirley Franklin extended the benefits to include city pensions in March 2006.
As of May 2006, fewer than 100 city employees used the benefits.
Decatur, Georgia
DeKalb County, Georgia
Doraville, Georgia (August 7, 2006)
Benefits: City Council voted, and was immediately effective, on August 7, 2006.
East Point, Georgia (2005)
Benefits: Medical benefits. For same-sex partners only.
Note: City Council vote on January 18, 2005.
Fulton County, Georgia (2004)
Benefits: Medical, visitation rights at the county jail, bereavement leave, death benefits
such as pension. For same-sex only. voted July 2003, called “committed partner
benefits”. Implemented January 1, 2004.
Note: In May 2006, 19 of about 6,000 county employees signed up for benefits. Providing
committed partner benefits costs the county about $60,000 a year.
Pine Lake, Georgia
Guam
No known benefits.
Hawaii
Hawaii has a largely symbolic and incomplete domestic partner registration.
[Please see our article: Hawaii: Reciprocal Beneficiaries]
Idaho
No known benefits.
Illinois
Illinois State (2006)
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision. For same-sex only. Became law on May 8, 2006, effective
July 1, 2006.
Note: There are a total of 57,000 Illinois state workers, including about 37,000 union
workers who are members of the American Federation of State, County & Municipal Employees
who also receive same-sex domestic partner benefits. The governor’s office estimated
that enrollment in these programs, including union and non-union employees, may grow by
one-half of one percent, with an estimated $2.2 million in increased liability annually.
Champaign City, Illinois (October 2005)
Note: City Council voted 9-zero for the resolution extending employee benefits to same-sex
domestic partners.
Chicago, Illinois
Benefits: Medical, paid bereavement leave. For same-sex only. Must be at least 18. Required
to cohabit.
Cook County, Illinois
Benefits: Medical, bereavement. For same-sex only.
Note: Must prove, by joint checking or the like, that they have cohabited for at least a
year - not required of legally married partners.
Indiana
Bloomington, Indiana
Iowa
Iowa State
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite sex partners. Partners required to have financial
entanglements - not a requirement of legally married partners. Implemented July 2003 in a two
year contract.
Note: The medical benefit, requested in past negotiations, was won by the largest state
employee union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).
Traditionally, the union contract, which impacts 20,548 workers, is offered to hundreds of
non-union workers, however, that decision had not been made as of February 27, 2003.
Iowa City, Iowa (2003)
Kansas
Eureka Springs, Arkansas (2007)
Benefits: None. $35 fee. Terminated fee $20. For both same- and opposite-sex couples. Available
to anyone in the country. Couple must certify that they “are in a committed relationship,
not involved in another domestic partnership, and intend to be domestic partners indefinitely.”
The Eureka Springs City Council unanimously passed the domestic partner registry ordinance on
May 14, 2007. Effective June 13, 2007.
Note: Signing up gets you a a certificate bearing the signature of the Mayor and the City Clerk.
The ordinance is intended to encourage employers to provide benefits for couples, who do not
want to, or are unable to be married.
[Instructions: cityofeurekasprings.org/DPRinfo.html]
[Application: cityofeurekasprings.org/DPRapp.html]
[Termination: cityofeurekasprings.org/DPRterm.html
Kentucky
Lexington, Kentucky (2003)
Benefits: Medical. For both same- and opposite-sex partners of city employees. Required to
have been in a “committed relationship” for six months, are at least 18, and have
proof of interdependence, such as joint bank accounts, and they “are engaged in a
committed relationship of mutual caring and support” - NOT required of legally married
partners. Gained through mayoral executive order. Implemented July 1, 2003.
Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana (July 1997)
Benefits: Same-sex only; medical, family medical leave, bereavement benefits; access to city
recreational facilities.
Note 1: Implemented as an executive order by Mayor Marc Morial in July 1997; codified by New
Orleans City Council unanimous vote in Sept. 20, 2001.
Note 2: Mike Johnson, who represented the radical, right-wing Alliance Defense Fund, sued the
city in 2003 on behalf of a group of New Orleans taxpayers, arguing that the domestic
partners ordinance violates provisions in state law that uphold traditional marriage. Civil
District Court Judge Louis DiRosa dismissed the suit in May 2005, before it got to trial,
saying the plaintiffs had no standing to sue because the law did not cost them any tax money.
On appeal, Johnson acknowledged that the cost increase was minimal, but said state law allows
taxpayers to sue over any government cost increase, however little. 4th Circuit Court of
Appeal dismissed the lawsuit on December 19, 2005, saying, “We find that plaintiffs have
not established the minimal requisite interest, and therefore lack the requisite interest
sufficient to afford him a right of action.”
Maine
Falmouth, Maine
Benefits: Medical for teachers.
Portland, Maine
Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland
Benefits: Same-sex partners only.
Montgomery County, Maryland (March 2000)
Benefits: Medical, leave, survivor benefits; same-sex partners only; for active and retired
County employees; effective March 3, 2000.
Note: Survived a court challenge by Pat Robertson’s Virginia-based American Center for
Law and Justice. That lawsuit unsuccessfully claimed that the county lacked authority to
“redefine marriage and dependent” and cited the state’s sodomy law.
An appeal was filed and lost in a unanimous ruling on June 14, 2002.
Takoma Park, Maryland
Massachusetts
Massachusetts State (2001)
Benefits: Sick and bereavement leave, paid time off for court appearances or counseling for
victims of domestic violence; effective for state social workers in 2001, effective for other
workers when their contracts are negotiated following October 25, 2001 during the following
two years.
Note: For some years before the 2001 benefits to state workers, management had sick and
bereavement leave benefits.
Massachusetts has extensive benefits through legal marriage for same-sex couples.
Please see: Massachusetts Legal Marriage
Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan (1991)
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
Ann Arbor public school district, Michigan (2000)
Benefits: Medical, dental. For same-sex only. Implemented 2000.
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
Detroit, Michigan
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision. For same-sex and any under 65-year-old blood relative
qualifying as employee’s IRS dependent.
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
East Lansing, Michigan
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
Ingham County, Michigan (2003)
Benefits: Same-sex only. Effective Jan. 1, 2003.
Note: Board of Commissioners voted on December 10, 2002 to extend same-sex benefits to some
county employees. It was part of a package of changes in benefits and pay increases for
non-union employees.
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan (June 1, 2000)
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
Washtenaw County, Michigan (March 1, 2001)
Benefits: Medical, dental, optical; possibly only for same-sex couples.
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
Wayne County, Michigan
Note: All Michigan governmental benefit plans for same-sex couples were briefly voided by the
2005 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
See “Benefits Denied” below: Michigan
Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota (2002)
Note: All business contracted for more than $100,000 with Minneapolis
will be required to provide same-and opposite-sex domestic partner benefits to their
employees within a year. Adopted by the City Council on Dec. 13, 2002. The ordinance contains
many exceptions, including development contracts, faith-based organizations, and businesses
with 21 or fewer employees. Ironically, the city itself cannot provide employee benefits
because state law forbids it.
Minneapolis Public Library, Minnesota
Minneapolis School District, Minnesota
Minnesota Senate (senators and staff) (2002)
Benefits: Same-sex only; senate approved January 29, 2002.
Note: House Republican leaders object to benefits, refusing to extend them to House
employees.
St. Paul, Minnesota
Mississippi
No known benefits.
Missouri
No known benefits.
Montana
Missoula County, Montana (April 2003)
Benefits: Implemented April 2003.
Nebraska
No known benefits.
Nevada
No known benefits.
New Hampshire
Concord School District, New Hampshire (2002)
Benefits: Medical. For same-sex only. Implemented September 1, 2002.
Echo Consulting Services, New Hampshire
New Hampshire School Administrative Unit 34 (September 20, 2005)
Benefits: Covers school districts in Deering, Hillsborough, Windsor, Washington.
Note: Employees may add domestic partner insurance coverage at their own expense.
Northwood, New Hampshire (June 2005)
Benefits: Medical, dental insurance plan “rider”; costs partner, not the town;
affidavit required; effective July 1, 2005.
Note: Benefit was sparked by an employee’s inquiry about obtaining partner benefits. In
January 2005, Selectmen decided by majority vote not to implement a health rider for 2005,
but revisit it later. However, a group of citizens circulated a petition to address the issue
at the March town meeting. Voters approved implementation of the rider. For Northwood to
implement the rider plan, the town needs 75 percent participation by employees who have
live-in partners.
As of June 17, 2005, the town had three employees who were not married - two of them
need to participate in order to implement the program. Only one of those employees had a
live-in partner, and that couple may be getting married soon. The town recently offered
vision health care, but was unable to get the numbers needed to participate in that plan.
Timberland, New Hampshire
West Lebanon, New Hampshire
Benefits: Medical.
New Jersey
New Jersey State
“Domestic Partnership Act”
Benefits: Provides hospital visitation and decision-making rights, an inheritance tax
exemption, and a state income tax deduction for dependents. Partners of state employees get
medical and pension coverage. Private employers are not obligated to provide medical, but all
insurance companies must make such coverage available to employers who wish to make it part
of their employee benefits. The Act also outlaws discrimination against domestic partners.
Applies to ame-sex couples and opposite-sex couples 62 and older. Effective June 2004)
Note: Required to cohabit, show proof of joint financial status or property ownership or
designation of the partner as the beneficiary in a retirement plan or will; these items are
not required of legal marriage.
[See: New Jersey: Domestic Partnership Act]
Bergen County, New Jersey
Berkeley Township, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical for all active and retired employees.
Note: Required to register as New Jersey domestic partners; must share a residence and are
“jointly responsible for each other’s common welfare” through financial
arrangements or joint ownership of real and personal property. Township Council unanimously
voted for benefits on February 14, 2006.
Brick, (Ocean County), New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical, pension. Voted for benefits on February 7, 2006.
Camden County, New Jersey (January 2006)
Benefits: Medical and pension. Camden County Board of Chosen Freeholders voted on January 19,
2006.
Gloucester County, New Jersey
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave; for CWA Local 1085.
Haddon Township, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Pension benefits. Township commissioners voted for Medical benefits on April 26,
2006.
Hudson County, New Jersey
Jackson Township, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical, pension. The Jackson Township Committee voted 4-0 to grant the domestic
partner benefits on February 6, 2006.
Note: The state pension system for most municipal employees already permits them to leave
their pension benefits to whomever they choose, the Jackson resolution, in effect, extended
the same option to employees of their Police Department.
Jersey City, New Jersey (September 2005)
Benefits: Medical benefits offered to city employees who register as domestic partners with
the state. As of October 12, 2005, pension benefits were included.
Mainland Regional High School Board of Education, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical
Note: Must register as New Jersey Domestic Partners.
[See New Jersey: Domestic Partnership Act and
Registration for Domestic Partnership]
Maplewood, New Jersey (2004)
Mercer County, New Jersey (November 2005)
Benefits: Medical and pension benefits for same-sex partners registered under the
state’s Domestic Partnership Act. The Mercer freeholders voted 6-0 to pass the
resolution to provide the benefits.
Mercer County, New Jersey
Monmouth County, New Jersey
Morris County, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical, pension; for registered domestic partners of county employees. Passed by
unanimous vote of the all-Republican freeholder board on February 28, 2006.
Mount Holly, New Jersey
Benefits: Pension benefits.
Mount Laurel, New Jersey
Benefits: Pension benefits.
Ocean County, New Jersey (January 2006)
Benefits: Extended pension benefits. For same-sex couples 18+ or opposite-sex couples 62+.
Note: Bowing to political pressure, the freeholders in a special meeting on January 25, 2006,
adopted a resolution authorizing county employees in the Police and Fire Retirement System to
leave benefits to a domestic partner. The vote came only after state Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla
(R-Ocean) announced on January 13, 2006, he intended to author legislation that would require
equal treatment of beneficiaries of the state pension systems.
The pressure was a result of widespread publicity regarding a Police and Fire Retirement
System employee, Lt. Laurel Hester - a dying former investigator for the Ocean County
Prosecutor’s Office. She wished to leave her spouse, Stacie Andree, the ability to keep
their home, which would have been impossible without being able to name her partner as
beneficiary, which state law permits. Since October 2005, the freeholders had steadfastly
refused to extend the pension system to non-spouse partners. The change followed several
bitter meetings, including one held in early January at which Steven Goldstein, chairman of
Garden State Equality, a gay and lesbian activist group, vowed to solicit funds nationally to
unseat the all-Republican freeholder board.]
Passaic County, New Jersey (January 18, 2006)
Benefits: Medical, dental; Freeholders voted 7-0 for the benefits, effective immediately,
January 18, 2006; couples must register as domestic partners with a municipal Vital
Statistics Office; employees already could leave pension benefits to anyone, regardless of
sexual orientation.
Pine Hill Board of Education, New Jersey
Benefits: Medical and pension.
Plainfield, New Jersey (2006)
Benefits: Medical, pensions. The City Council voted unanimously on March 20, 2006, for a
measure for medical coverage, and a measure for pensions. There was no opposition.
Princeton Borough, New Jersey (2004)
South Orange, New Jersey (2004)
Stone Harbor, New Jersey
Benefits: Pension benefits.
Stratford, New Jersey
Benefits: Pension benefits.
Union County, New Jersey (2005)
Westville (borough), New Jersey (January 2006)
Benefits: Medical, pension benefits.
New Mexico
New Mexico State
Benefits: Domestic partnership benefits to state employees.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
New York
New York State
Benefits: Medical; for state workers.
Albany, New York
Albany County, New York
Brooklyn Public Library, New York
Note: Requires city registration plus a “Financial Responsibility Form” indicating
couples either have wills in each other’s favor, share a bank account, are on one lease,
are on a joint credit card, or have Durable Powers of Attorney.
Clarkstown School District, Rockland County, New York
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite-sex couples. Required to cohabit and to be “be
mutually interdependent financially” - not required of legally married partners.
Eastchester School District, New York (2003)
Greenburgh, New York (2002)
Ithaca, New York
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
Nassau County, New York (June 2004)
New Rochelle, New York (May 19, 2005)
Benefits: Required to register with the Westchester County Clerk and affirm they have been
together at least three months - cohabit time not required of legally married couples.
Note: On December 2005, four residents sued the city in federal court to end health benefits
for unmarried domestic partners of city employees, using the same attorney, Raymond Belair,
who fought same-sex partner benefits in Eastchester. The Town Board rescinded that benefit in
January 2005 before the suit came to trial.
[See Eastchester under Benefits Denied below]
New York State Attorney’s Office
Benefits: Non-union staff only; includes attorneys.
New York, New York (1993)
Benefits: Domestic partner benefits for all municipal workers. First implemented 1993.
Expanded in June 1998, gives all the registered domestic partners full equality with married
couples.
Note: City registration not enough to qualify for benefits; also must sign affidavit and
prove financial interdependence w/lease or mortgage in both names, joint banking/credit card,
etc.; none are requirements of legal marriage. Benefits survived two court challenges by Pat
Robertson-founded American Center for Law & Justice.
[See the official New York City Web site: Domestic Partnership: NYC Marriage Bureau]
Rochester, New York
Rockland County, New York (2003)
Southern Westchester, New York (2003)
Note: 23 public school districts participate in an insurance cooperative.
Syracuse Public School Teachers, New York (2007)
Benefits: Medical, prescription, dental, personal and bereavement leave. For same-sex
domestic partners of Syracuse Teachers Association members. School Board approved,
October 10, 2007. Enacted, January 1, 2008.
Note: The union already covered vision benefits for same-sex partners.
Suffolk County, New York (2004)
Westchester County, New York
North Carolina
Carrboro, North Carolina
Note: Benefits survived hostile law suit in 1999.
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Benefits: Medical, sick leave.
Note: Benefits survived hostile law suit in 1999.
Durham, North Carolina (2002)
Benefits: Medical, dental. For same-sex only. Required to cohabit - not required of legal
marriage. City council approved on October 12, 2002.
Durham County, North Carolina (2003)
Benefits: Medical. For same-sex only. Approved on September 2, 2003.
Orange County, North Carolina
North Dakota
No known benefits.
Northern Mariana Islands
No known benefits.
Ohio
Cleveland Heights, Ohio (2002)
Benefits: Medical. For same-sex only. Voted into law April 15, 2002.
Oklahoma
No known benefits.
Oregon
Oregon State (1998)
Benefits: Medical, dental, life insurance.
Note: All state, county and city employers in Oregon are constitutionally required to provide
benefits, due to court ruling in December 1998.
Corvallis, Oregon
Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) Eugene, Oregon
Benefits: Medical.
Gresham, Oregon (1999)
Benefits: For same-sex only. Implemented March 1, 1999.
Multnomah County, Oregon
Benefits: Medical coverage for non-union)
Portland, Oregon (February 2002)
Benefits: Police and firefighters are eligible to collect pension benefits, should their
partners be killed in the line of duty; adopted February 13, 2002.
Pennsylvania
Lower Merton School District, Ardmore, Pennsylvania
Benefits: Medical. For same-sex only.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (May 7, 1998)
Benefits: Same-sex only; medical, family leave; choice of any individual, regardless of
relationship as beneficiary for pension benefits.
Note: 1996 executive benefits order for administrative and executive employees was held up by
a city counsel member’s objections. The 1998 Philadelphia law extending benefits to
city workers’ same-sex partners was struck down on August 28, 2002 by a Pennsylvania
Commonwealth Court panel. The law, called the “Life Partnership” ordinance, had
amended the definition of the term “marital status” to include “life
partner.” Seven city taxpayers sued, charging that the city did not have the power
“to create a new marital status.” The court ruled that the law ran counter to what
the state legislature intended the definition of marriage to be, even though the law and
benefits do not change the definition of marriage in the slightest. On October 8, 2003, the
State Supreme Court agreed to decide whether Philadelphia may grant benefits to same-sex
partners of city employees. As of 2003, about 350 couples have registered as domestic
partners since the laws took effect. the state Supreme Court found for the city, on December
6, 2004, ruling that the laws gave same-sex couples “very limited rights that do not
even begin to mirror the extensive fabric of rights” married couples enjoy.
Puerto Rico
No known benefits.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island State (2001)
Note: In January 2006, more than 200 domestic partners of state employees received letters
telling them - for the first time - that their medical benefits are considered taxable income
by the IRS. The state admits they blundered not ordering tax deductions from paychecks. The
Carcieri administration said it wouldn’t be fair for taxpayers pay the back taxes, so it
is offering no-interest loans and extended payment plans. The no-interest loans may also be
considered taxable income by the IRS.
Providence, Rhode Island (December 2001)
Benefits: Police officers added to the domestic partnership benefits plans in December 2000.
Firefighters, teachers, laborers already covered; possibly only for same-sex couples.
South Carolina
No known benefits.
South Dakota
No known benefits.
Tennessee
No known benefits.
Texas
Austin, Texas (September 2006)
For city employees. Both same-and opposite-sex couples. Required to reside in Texas.
Benefits: medical, vision, dental, life insurance, FLEXTRA, HealthPLUS (Wellness Program),
Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Prepaid Legal Services. Coverage for unmarried children
under 25.
Registration form:
www.ci.austin.tx.us/benefits/downloads/dpaffidavit.doc
www.ci.austin.tx.us/benefits/downloads/dpaffidavit.pdf
Dallas, Texas
Travis County, Texas
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
Benefits via registration with Travis County (See: Registration for Domestic Partnership)
Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah (March 2006)
Benefts: Medical; effective March 2006.
Note: Mayor Rocky Anderson’s executive order, on Sept. 21, 2005, changed the city’s
contract with the Public Employees Health Program (PEHP) to offer medical insurance benefits
to a domestic partner of a Salt Lake City employee. PEHP’s governing body, The Utah
State Retirement Board, petitioned the court for an opinion as to whether it would be legal
to offer such benefits. The Salt Lake City Council then adopted an ordinance on February 7,
2006, that provided a different package; one that permitted city workers to enroll an
“adult designee” rather than a “domestic partner” in the city health
insurance plan. Anderson vetoed that measure, but the council unanimously overrode it on
February 23, and the “adult designee” ordinance now stands.
Earlier, three Salt Lake City residents, and an Arizona-based Christian group, the Alliance
Defense Fund, filed a lawsuit opposing Anderson’s order regarding domestic partners.
They alleged that the benefits violate state law and the 2005 anti-gay, anti-marriage state
constitutional amendment.
That lawsuit became moot once the city council enacted the program for adult designees, which
supersedes Anderson’s plan for domestic partners.
During the 2006 state legislative session, Rep. LaVar Christensen (R-Draper) sponsored HB327
that would have limited how the city offered such benefits, but that bill died.
On May 12, 2006, Third District Judge Stephen Roth issued a five-page opinion stating that it
is not illegal for Salt Lake City to offer medical benefits to “adult designees” of
city workers who live in the same household but are not married to the employee. When
employers offer such benefits it does not violate state law or the Utah Constitution. An
“adult designee” could be a sister or brother, a parent, a romantic partner or
friend. The ordinance also applies to the designee’s children. Roth declared that
providing employment benefits does not create, in the words of the state’s anti-marriage
statute, “any legal status, rights, benefits or duties that are substantially equivalent
to” marriage. Nor do such job perks give “legal effect” to a nonmarital union,
as barred by the constitutional amendment.]
Vermont
Vermont State
Benefits: All state workers; implemented in 1994)
[Vermont has extensive benefits through the Civil
Union process.]
[See: “Civil Unions”]
Burlington, Vermont (2000)
Middlebury, Vermont
Benefits: Medical, family leave.
Virgin Islands
No known benefits.
Virginia
No known benefits.
Washington
Washington State (April 21, 2007)
Benefits: Covers some of the spousal rights that are offered to legally married
opposite-sex couples. For same-sex partners, as well as opposite-sex couples in which at
least one partner is past 62.
Note: Gaining the few domestic partner benefits followed a court loss for the right to legal
marriage. Registration may be done by mail or in person.
Washington State Registration form:
“Declaration of State Registered Domestic Partnership”
[Also see our article: Domestic Partnership: The Washington Approach]
Washington State (October 23, 2000)
Benefits: Medical; all state workers.
Note: State school teachers’ benefits are bargained locally and are not affected by this
benefit plan; affidavit requirements may include both partners being over 18, and sharing a
residence and finances for at least six months. Not required of legally married partners.
Anacortes, Washington (2004)
Benefits: Medical. Voted December 2004.
Bellevue, Washington (June 2007)
Benefits: Medical, dental, vision, life insurance, mental-health counseling and family leave.
For same- and opposite-sex and elderly couples.
Note: The City Council voted 7-0 for the benefits on June 4, 2007. Implimentation possible
by August 2007, depending on the speed of the human-resources department and negotiations
with with employee unions. The action was triggered by a lawsuit; one of the plaintiffs was a
firefighter who was not given paid leave to attend the funeral of his partner’s father.
Bellingham, Washington (2006)
Benefits: Medical ($40/month).
Note: Approved by the Bellingham City Council on February 6, 2006. Benefit coverage managed
through the Association of Washington Cities’ trust fund, which began granting domestic
partner benefits in 2003.
Burien, Washington (2002)
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite-sex couples. Implemented January 1, 2002.
Note: Offers reimbursements equal to premiums paid for spouse and children of married
workers.
Des Moines, Washington (2006)
Benefits: Medical; For same- and opposite-sex couples. Required to cohabit one year, show
they have a substantive relationship and share expenses - not required of married couples.
Note: Instituted by City Counsel vote on December 14, 2006.
Edmonds, Washington (2007)
Benefits: Medical; for same-sex or senior couples only.
Note: City Council voted 6-0, November 27, 2007. Couples must be registered with the state as
domestic partners.
Edmonds School District, Washington
King County, Washington (2003)
Benefits: ?
Note: All employers contracting with the county for more than $25,000,
who offer benefits to legally married partners, must extend the same benefits to same-sex
domestic partners. Adopted December 15, 2003.
Newcastle, Washington (May 2007)
Benefits: Medical.
Affidavit required. Benefits were approved on June 5 - by a 7-0 vote - effective June 13,
2007.
Olympia, Washington (1994)
Benefits: Same-sex only.
Note: All contractors who do at least $50,000 worth of business with
the city, and who already offer benefits for their employees’ married spouses, are
required to extend equal benefits to domestic partners. Implemented 2004.
Peirce County, Washington (2007)
Benefits: For both same- and opposite-sex couples county employees. Passed as the Domestic
Partnership Ordinance by the County Council in December 2007.
Seattle, Washington (June 1, 2000)
Benefits: Medical, dental for city employees.
Note: All employers contracting with Seattle for more than $30,000, who
offer benefits to legally married partners, must extend the same benefits to same-sex
domestic partners. Employers may add more specifications for domestic partnerships to qualify
than Seattle’s domestic partners registry requires. Adopted November 1999; implemented
June 1, 2000
Seattle City Light Co., Washington
Seattle Public Library, Washington
Benefits: Medical, dental.
Seattle - Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (Metro), Washington
Skagit 911 Emergency Services, Skagit, Washington
Benefits: Medical.
Snohomish County, Washington (January 1, 2002)
Benefits: Medical.
Snohomish County Public Utility District, Washington
Snohomish Health District, Washington
Benefits: Medical; same-sex only.
Spokane, Washington
Tacoma, Washington
Tumwater, Washington (February 6, 2001)
Benefits: Medical.
Note 1: Offers reimbursements equal to premiums paid for spouse and children of married
workers.
Note 2: All employers contracting with Tumwater for more than $50,000,
who offer benefits to legally married partners, must extend the same benefits to same-and
opposite-sex domestic partners.
Vancouver, Washington (1998)
Benefits: Medical, sick leave.
Note: Survived legal challenge in Washington Supreme Court August 23, 2001; argued by the
Northstar Legal Center, a radical, right-wing law firm in Fairfax, Virginia.
West Virginia
No known benefits.
Wisconsin
Wisconsin State
Benefits: Some state unions; bereavement, family illness leave.
Note: Benefits to all state workers, including state universities, have been threatened by
the use of the 2004 state anti-marriage constitutional amendment.
Dane County, Wisconsin (2000)
Benefits: Medical. For same- and opposite-sex couples on the insistence of county
workers’ unions. Benefits approved June 12, 2000.
Note: Required to have a joint lease or a will designating a partner as a beneficiary - not
required of legally married partners.
Dane Regional Planning Commission, Wisconsin
Benefits: Bereavement and/or family illness leave.
Madison, Wisconsin
Benefits: Medical to both same-and opposite-sex partners.
Note: Madison participates in the Group Insurance Board covering state and local government
workers, which does not recognize domestic partners. Therefore, reimbursements are made to
partnered employees, equivalent to that which is provided to a legal spouse.
Madison Metropolitan School District, Wisconsin
Benefits: Medical.
Shorewood Hills (Village), Wisconsin
Benefits: Use of village pool.
Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC)
Benefits: Medical.
Wyoming
No known benefits.
U.S. Military
No known benefits. Currently, the military throws soldiers out of the service if they are known to be gay or lesbian.
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