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Lawmakers unveil bipartisan domestic partner benefits bills

By Alyssa Rosenberg arosenberg@govexec.com May 21, 2009

A bipartisan group of legislators has introduced House and Senate bills that would grant the domestic partners of gay and lesbian federal employees the same health and retirement benefits as the spouses of heterosexual workers.

"This is a country that prides itself on its equality and fairness to all so it is correct to bring those ideals into the regulations governing benefits for domestic partners of federal employees," said Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla. "It is the right thing to do, and it will help us bring federal employment benefits squarely into the 21st century."

Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., who co-chairs the Congressional Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Equality Caucus, introduced the 2009 Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act in the House. Sens. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, unveiled the Senate version.

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The legislation would give domestic partners access to the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program and other perks, including relocation assistance if an employee moves for a new federal job. In return, gay and lesbian employees would be required to abide by the same rules as their heterosexual counterparts on issues such as nepotism.

The bill's advocates have said it would bring the federal government in line with other large employers including many of the Fortune 500 companies, making it more competitive in attracting talent. Collins and Lieberman noted that such competitiveness will be particularly important as the federal government seeks to hire hundreds of thousands of young employees.

Leonard Hirsch, president of Federal GLOBE, the governmentwide affinity group for gay and lesbian employees, said an August 2008 survey of the organization's members suggested domestic partner benefits could provide a major incentive to join the government and stay there.

"A majority of our respondents knew federal employees who had left government service to be able to provide benefits for their families from private sector employers," Hirsch said in a statement releasing the survey results. "Not only is this a matter of simple fairness -- the government is well behind civil society in this regard and cannot compete effectively."

Colleen Kelley, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, said members frequently ask about the status of domestic partnership benefits. NTEU reached an agreement with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which operates under different pay and benefits rules than most federal agencies, to create a domestic partner benefits program. Kelley has said she hopes other agencies will use that program as a model.

For a full exploration of the debate over federal benefits for same-sex partners of employees, see Alyssa Rosenberg's feature story, "Foreign and Domestic," in the May 2009 issue of Government Executive.

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  • "Marriage is and has been since the beginning of recorded history between a man and a woman PERIOD." ------ Not really. In many parts of the world, it was between a man and as many women as he could afford to support. More wives means more status. Oh, and forget having marriages between people of different racial heritage. Totally illegal and immoral *historically* in much of the world, especially in this country. And I've worked for the government long enough to know first hand that the "that's the way we always do it" explanation is rarely satisfactory. "If people want to live together (roommates) and do strange and unnatural things behind closed doors, then we certainly can't stop them in our free society." ----- And if married people want to do "strange and unnatural things"? Who is to say what anyone does behind closed doors, and how is it anyone's business? Sometimes I wish I could see the world in black and white and assume that what *I* do in my daily life is what's "right" and everything else is "wrong". It would make things so much easier. s.b.n.n. Posted August 3, 2009 9:32 AM
  • The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) website states that a federal employee may not “discriminate against an employee or applicant based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, handicapping condition, marital status, or political affiliation.” And yet, married federal employees still receive a superior benefits package for doing the same work as other employees. I believe that all employees should receive equal pay and benefits for equal work. In an effort to eliminate this discrimination, some enlightened employers have developed benefit packages that provide an equal credit amount for each employee. The employee may then select the benefits that best meet his/her needs from a menu of options. tmcr Posted July 8, 2009 2:34 PM
  • I am sick and tired of our legislators spending time on assinine stuff like this. Marriage is and has been since the beginning of recorded history between a man and a woman PERIOD. If people want to live together (roommates) and do strange and unnatural things behind closed doors, then we certainly can't stop them in our free society. However, each roommate is free to get a job and obtain their own benefits in our free society. Legislators: Stop giving away more of our tax money. It seems to me that right now the biggest problem is your inability to live within your means as representatives of the people. We now have an annual deficit of more than one trillion dollars. You need to make some hard choices, use tough love, ignore your lobbyists, and finally do the right thing. As a representative, you must pass legislation that is affordable to the nation. You must repeal old stupid laws that were created for various special interest groups, and devise a government that provides a basic safety net for all, but challenges everyone to earn an honest living and not ask for handouts. Why don't you senators and representatives surprise me? DOD Employee Posted July 8, 2009 9:38 AM
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