Benefits of Offering Domestic Partner Benefits

Benefits of Offering Domestic Partner Coverage In order for companies to be competitive and diversified in the marketplace today, many are offering domestic partner benefits. Companies need to embrace the new world of opportunities in the workplace and marketplace, and be determined to be the best. Some jurisdictions have instituted domestic partnerships as a way to recognize same-sex unions, domestic partnerships may involve either different-sex or same-sex couples. Recent controversy has surrounded same sex domestic partner benefits since same sex marriages are not recognized by the government. Companies that recognizes a critical component of success is the ability to value and leverage diversity-that is, the power of the people. Domestic Partners have been defined as legal or personal relationship between individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are not joined in a traditional marriage, a common-law marriage, or a civil union. The phrases domestic partner was first used to describe living arrangements in 1985 according to The American Heritage Book of English Usage. The values range from being recognized as a culturally diverse company to attracting talent that would likely go to another company for the benefits. The problem has been health, dental, vision, pharmacy, long-term care, personal accident insurance and life insurance benefits are being offered to employees and their dependents, but not to domestic partners. With the increasing cost of medical attention, it is near impossible to live with out insurance coverage. Some companies are only recognizing legally married couples as qualified family members, which in turns leaves out unmarried opposite and same sex couples. One key question has been how does one prove that he or she is a domestic partner? This is left up to the individual company, corporation and agency. The common practice is to sign an affidavit stating that the person is an adult person living

References: Armour, S. (2006, June 26). More companies offer benefits to domestic partners. USA Today. Retrieved from the EBSCOhost database. Halliday, J. (2006, April 17). Gay-advocacy Web site: BMW ads hypocritical. Automotive News, 80, 62. Retrieved August 19, 2006 from the EBSCOhost database. Halliday, Jean (2006, April 10). Gay-advocacy Web site blasts BMW placements. Advertising Age, 77, 13. Retrieved August 19, 2006 form the EBSCOhost database. Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Employer that offer domestic partner benefits. Retrieved August 19, 2006 from http://www.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Search_the_Database&Template=/CustomSource/WorkNet/srch.cfm&searchtypeid=3&searchSubTypeID=1 Indiana University. Domestic Partner Coverage 's. Retrieved August 19, 2006 from http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/dp/dp.html L.S Miami University. Domestic partner benefits. Retrieved August 19, 2006 from http://www.units.muohio.edu/prs/personnel/domestic%20partner%20benefits.htm Northrop Grumman U.S. Census Bureau. County Business Patterns 2000. Washington, D.C., 2002, 3.