New York City domestic partner benefits
November 1, 2004

From New York Employment Law Letter, written by attorneys at the law firm Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.

On October 26, 2004, the Equal Benefits Law, adopted over New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's veto, became effective. As discussed in prior issues of New York Employment Law Letter, the new law amends the City of New York Administrative Code to require certain employers who have contracts with a New York City contracting agency for $100,000 or more to provide the same employment benefits to employees with same-sex or opposite- sex domestic partners that they provide to employees with spouses.

Those benefits include health insurance; pension, retirement, disability, and life insurance; family, medical, parental, bereavement, and other leave policies; tuition reimbursement; legal assistance; adoption assistance; moving and other relocation expenses; membership discounts; and travel benefits provided by a contractor to its employees.

Since we last wrote about this topic, Mayor Bloomberg, as expected, filed a lawsuit to prevent the Equal Benefits Law from taking effect. In a last-ditch legal effort, the mayor asked for a temporary restraining order to stop the law's implementation. A Manhattan supreme court judge, however, recently refused to grant the order, directing both sides back to court on November 8, 2004.

For now, and pending further court developments, the Equal Benefits Law remains in effect. If your company is subject to the Equal Benefits Law, you must identify which of its benefit programs and policies will be affected. Some benefit programs should be relatively easy to extend to domestic partners, such as, for example, your company's leave policy. To modify other benefits, such as health insurance and life insurance programs, company retirement plans, and the like, you may need to contact your insurance broker/carrier, accountants, or attorneys for assistance.

Further, your company policies, employee handbooks, formal plan documents, and summary plan descriptions will need to be reviewed and updated.

Copyright © 2004 M. Lee Smith Publishers LLC. This article is an excerpt from NEW YORK EMPLOYMENT LAW LETTER. New York Employment Law Letter does not attempt to offer solutions to individual problems but rather to provide information about current developments in New York employment law. Questions about individual problems should be addressed to the employment law attorney of your choice.

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