{"id":4683,"date":"2016-04-04T10:47:40","date_gmt":"2016-04-04T15:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.findlaw-admin.com\/ability-law\/smallbusiness\/employment-law-and-human-resources\/domestic-partner-benefits.html"},"modified":"2024-06-06T04:44:14","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T09:44:14","slug":"domestic-partner-benefits","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.findlaw.com\/smallbusiness\/employment-law-and-human-resources\/domestic-partner-benefits.html","title":{"rendered":"Domestic Partner Benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Domestic Partner Benefits<\/h1>\n
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\n By Susan Buckner, J.D.<\/a> | Legally reviewed by Aviana Cooper, Esq.<\/a>\n | Last updated\n
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The last updated date refers to the last time this article was reviewed by FindLaw or one of our contributing authors<\/a>. We make every effort to keep our articles updated. For information regarding a specific legal issue affecting you, please contact an attorney in your area<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/details>\n<\/section>\n

Partners in traditional marriages have long been included in the employee benefits their spouse receives from the company they work for. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on Obergefell v. Hodges<\/i><\/a> gave same-sex couples across America the same rights and privileges as opposite-sex married couples.<\/p>\r\n

Before Obergefell<\/i>, some states and companies offered domestic partner benefits <\/a>to same-sex domestic partners. States also expanded the definition of civil unions, so they resembled marriage. This allowed same-sex couples to put their partners on their employee benefit plans. Domestic partnership placed the long-term partner in the position of the employee’s spouse for insurance enrollment purposes.<\/p>\r\n

It would seem that the passage of Obergefell<\/i> would finally put same-sex couples and heterosexual couples on an equal footing. However, now that same-sex marriage and heterosexual marriage are equal, one group may have fallen through the cracks. Opposite-sex unmarried couples that had been benefiting from domestic partnership benefits may find those benefits gone. Businesses may be abandoning benefits, such as health insurance, for domestic partners.<\/p>\r\n

What Is a "Domestic Partner"?<\/h2>\r\n

A domestic partnership<\/a> means two unrelated, unmarried adults in a committed relationship. \u201cCohabitation," where couples live together without a promise of commitment, is not considered a partnership. Domestic partner relationships arose during the 1980s, so same-sex partners could have some of the same benefits as heterosexual married couples and unmarried heterosexual couples. The Federal government, along with most states, does not recognize domestic partnerships.<\/p>\r\n

In the late 1980s, some insurance companies expanded the eligibility of domestic partnerships so businesses could offer domestic partner benefit plans to employees. An "eligible partner" was:<\/p>\r\n