Two new bills extending the rights and benefits provided to spouses to domestic partners were recently signed into law. We’ll take a look at the new laws.
State Contractors Can’t Discriminate
Under AB 17, certain state contractors have to provide employee benefits for registered domestic partners on the same basis as they do for spouses. In particular, state agencies cannot enter contracts for goods or services in the amount of $100,000 or more if the contractor provides employee benefits to employees with spouses but not to employees with domestic partners. The law, which will apply to both California and out-of-state contractors, generally won’t cover contracts executed or amended before Jan. 1, 2007. Here are some key provisions:
- Contractor certification. A contractor entering into a contract with a state agency must certify it complies with the new law. If a contractor makes a false certification, the contract may be voided and penalties imposed.
- Requirements waived. A state agency may contract with an organization that doesn’t comply with the new requirement under limited circumstances, such as in an emergency and when there is only one bidder.
- No discrimination. A contractor won’t be in violation of the law if it can’t provide a certain benefit despite taking reasonable measures to do so. And if the same benefit costs more to provide to domestic partners or spouses, the law permits a contractor to pass the excess cost on to the employee seeking the benefit. The new law also allows a contractor not to extend a certain benefit to spouses and domestic partners as long as there’s no discrimination as to who may obtain the benefit.
Join us this fall in San Francisco for the California Employment Law Update conference, a 3-day event that will teach you everything you need to know about new laws and regulations, and your compliance obligations, for the year ahead—it’s one-stop shopping at its best.
Expanded Workplace Rights
Another new law, the Domestic Partner Rights and Responsibilities Act of 2003, grants domestic partners nearly all of the rights and responsibilities afforded to spouses under California law. AB 205, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2005, has some key implications for the workplace.
According to employment attorney Drew Alexis, with the Los Angeles office of Jackson, Lewis, if you’re covered by the California Family Rights Act (CFRA), the new law will require you to grant an eligible employee up to 12 weeks of leave to care for a domestic partner, or child of a domestic partner, with a serious health condition. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), Alexis points out, wouldn’t allow time off for this purpose. Thus, you could be faced with a situation in which an employee could take 12 weeks off under the CFRA to care for a domestic partner and then another 12 weeks under the FMLA for the worker’s own medical reasons.
Other workplace rights have already been extended to domestic partners by prior legislation. In 2002, California’s ‘Kin Care’ law was broadened to permit employees to use up to one half of their annual sick leave to care for an ill domestic partner. Another law extended eligibility for unemployment benefits to an employee who resigns employment to accompany their domestic partner who is relocating for employment purposes.
Review Your Policies
Legal challenges to AB 205 are under way, so it’s unclear whether the new law will survive. While this is being sorted out, take the time to review your family leave policy and practices to determine what you’ll need to do if AB 205 takes effect on schedule in 2005.
Also, now is a good time to review other workplace policies covering domestic partners to determine whether you’re using a definition of ‘domestic partner’ that’s consistent with California law.