Generally, and unfortunately, if an employer offers health insurance coverage
to the spouses of employees, they usually don’t extend the coverage to
unmarried partners too. Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA),
employers are not required to offer health insurance to any employees, spouses,
or "domestic partners" (this term is often used to include same-sex
couples and unmarried opposite-sex couples, as well as common law marriages).
ERISA also does not compel employers that provide health insurance for employees
and legal dependents to extend coverage to domestic partners.
Nevertheless, thousands of employers across the country have begun offering
domestic partner benefits in the last several years, and the number continues
to grow. Employment experts predict that this trend will continue, as small
companies start to follow the lead of large employers that have introduced domestic
partner benefit plans in recent months.
In addition, some state and local laws have recently been passed in favor of
domestic partner rights. San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle have ordinances
requiring all businesses with municipal contracts to offer same-sex benefits
if they offer benefits for married couples. Vermont recently enacted the country's
first "civil union" law, which grants same-sex couples nearly all
of the benefits to which the state's married couples are entitled. Provisions
regarding health insurance are still being written, and it is not yet known
what they will entail.
When benefits are offered to domestic partners, the level of coverage varies
depending on the employer. Domestic partner benefits may include long-term care,
group life insurance, family and bereavement leave, and most commonly, health,
dental, and vision insurance. The definition of domestic partner may also vary
from employer to employer. Some companies include same-sex couples, unmarried
opposite-sex couples, and common law marriages. Others cover only same-sex partners
on the grounds that opposite-sex couples can receive spousal benefits by getting
married, while same-sex couples do not have this option. Regardless of how the
term is defined, employers typically require domestic partners to sign an affidavit
stating that they are in a lasting, committed relationship. They may also require
that a couple live together for a specified period of time before they become
eligible for domestic partner benefits.
Please note that this description/explanation is intended only
as a guideline.