Domestic Partner Benefits

At the August 20th Council Work Session, Vice-mayor Gorton referred the issue of domestic partner benefits to the General Government Committee, which I serve as Chair. Present plans are to place the issue on the agenda for initial discussion at the next meeting of the committee, on October 1 at 11:00 a.m. in Council Chambers.

Domestic partner benefits are benefits offered to an employee’s unmarried partner, whether of the same or opposite sex.  Common examples of benefits include health and dental insurance, employee assistance programs, dependent life insurance, and family medical leave.  You can learn more details about the issue from the perspective of one group of advocates here.

I support extending present benefits to domestic partners.  I believe the issue is primarily one of fairness in the way we treat our employees.  But it is also good business.  Since many households in the United States now consist of unmarried couples, such benefits are one way to compete in the marketplace to attract and keep good employees.  An increasing number of employers are offering these benefits.  Locally these include the University of Kentucky and Toyota,  At the national level, Wal-mart recently announced that it will start providing these benefits.

Mayor Isaac moved administratively to add domestic partner benefits to the LFUCG health benefit package in 2003.  She was over-ruled by Council then in what many saw as a spat between the Council and Mayor about how the Mayor had proceeded, rather than a vote purely on the merits of the issue.  It is now time to revisit the issue on its merits.