How demanding are domestic partner benefits?

Today, private employers, nonprofit organizations, and unions in the US offer domestic partner benefits to either the homosexual or unmarried heterosexual partners. Those defined as domestic partners include same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex couples.

Benefits offered to domestic couples include the same range of benefits for married couples. This includes long-term care insurance, group life insurance, and family and bereavement leave. The most commonly offered benefits and the most visible are health, dental, and vision insurance.

Private employers don’t have to offer health insurance to employees, including domestic partners. Those employers who offer health insurance to their employees should follow federal law and state law. Health insurance benefits are required at the federal level through ERISA, the Employee Retirement Income Security Act.

DOMA, Defense of Marriage Act, was created in 1996. It defines marriage between a man and a woman, and it gives each state the option of legalizing same-sex marriages and recognizing same-sex marriages that were legally performed in other states. Although no state currently recognizes same-sex marriages, there are still some cities, such as San Francisco and New York City that allow domestic partners to officially register their relationship with the city. Those registries do not constitute legal status as marriage or common law marriage.

Same-sex partners can not be treated as spouses for federal tax and employee-benefit purposes. The IRS has determined that employment-based health benefits for domestic partners can be excluded from taxable income.

Some employers offer domestic partner benefits that exclude coverage for heterosexual couples on the grounds that they have a legal right to get married. But coverage for opposite-sex couples is increasing because of legal challenges and the threat of lawsuits because such exclusions are discriminatory. 

Employees try to offer domestic partner benefits, but health insurers are not allowing selling plans that include such coverage since they fear that an employee’s gay partner might obtain HIV. That will be the kind of disease that is hard to treat. They offer these benefits and add 2% surcharges to the premiums as a precaution for what they perceive as a higher-risk group of customers.

Many employers who offer benefits ask for detailed sworn statements from same-sex partners. They usually ask if they are in truly eligible, long-lasting relationships. Most gay rights groups were contended by the decision by the Big Three automakers who said that offering domestic partner benefits, including medical, dental, and prescription coverage, is consistent with their commitment to promoting diversity in the workplace.

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, a national personnel organization based in Alexandria, the top three reasons employers say they do not offer health insurance benefits to domestic partners are lack of employee interest; concern that benefit costs would rise, and moral objections.