Because the new laws make domestic partners eligible for the same benefits and workplace rights as spouses, it is important to understand the definition of “domestic partners.” Public and private employers must follow this definition with respect to any rights or benefits afforded domestic partners by law.
Domestic partners are “two adults who have chosen to share one another’s lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring,” provided they have filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the secretary of state, and all of these requirements are met:
- They share a common residence.
- Neither person is married or a member of another domestic partnership with someone else that has not been terminated, dissolved, or adjudged a nullity.
- They are not related by blood in a way that would prevent them from being married to each other in California.
- They are both at least 18 years of age.
- They are both members of the same sex or if they are of the opposite sex, one or both of them are over age 62 and meet specified Social Security benefits eligibility criteria.
- Both individuals are capable of consenting to the domestic partnership.