Domestic Partnership Benefits for Federal Employees: What Do They Get?
A friend of mine recalled that President Obama signed a order last year that had something to do with benefits for federal employees, and thought therefore that federal employees get all the benefits that straight married employees do. But that's not the case.
The presidential order from last year has let federal employees use their sick leave to take care of their domestic partners. But the order did nothing to financially benefit the partners of gay federal employees.
What Don't They Get?
- Health benefits
- Long-term care
- Family and medical leave
- Federal retirement benefits
These benefits make up a significant portion of an employee's compensation. So everything else being equal, gay employees in a domestic partnership will make less than employees with opposite sex spouses.
What's Changing?
Late last month President Obama reiterated his support for the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act, which would give domestic partners the same employee benefits as married straight couples. However, it's unclear whether it will pass:
- Democrats no longer have filibuster-proof control of the senate, and Republicans are more unified than usual.
- It's an election year. With Democrats already projected to lose seats in both the Senate and House, they may not want to spend political capital on a law that only affects a small minority of Americans.
- Public support for domsetic partnesrhip benefits is mixed. Last September, 54% of Americans said they support domestic partners getting the same federal benefits as married couples, but that number could have changed since then.
- Obama made a big deal out of Don't Ask Don't Tell in his State of the Union address last month. That may be all he wants to do for gay rights this year.
And, of course, even with a DPBOA, federal employees with same-sex partners still won't be getting equal compensation, because without marriage (and federally recognized marriage, at that), family benefits are taxed differently. For example, if a couple is lucky enough to receive domestic partner benefits (like health insurance) from an employer, the federal government taxes those benefits as income.
Those of you with opposite-sex partners might try running a mockup of your taxes using the value of your family (partner and children) benefits as additional income. The difference between that total and what you actually owe is just one example of the inequality between "nationally recognized marriage" and "domestic partnership/state-recognized marriage."
(Gideon, correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that presidential order allow supervisors to approve sick leave for employees to care for domestic partners, but not require them to do so? So what it really comes down to is whether or not your supervisor is a decent human being, and tough and too bad if they're not.)
That's correct, Aconite. Right now Section 5, part 630 of the Code of Federal Regulations requires that managers let federal employees use their sick leave to take care of their family members. The definitions in that part don't include domestic partner.
However, the Office of Personnel Management (the organization that writes the rules for federal employees) has proposed new definitions that would incorporate Obama's presidential order. These new definitions, if adopted, would treat domestic partners the same as spouses.
The Executive order signed by President Obama in June 2009 to extend some benefits to domestic partners does include changes in housing allowances for federal overseas employees as stated in the Department of State Standardized Regulations (DSSR). These regulations have not been adopted by the Department of Defense, specifically the US Army, since I have asked on my occasions if I can file for domestic partner benefits, only to be told that a decision has not been made and guidance is pending. How long does it take to implement the changes where other agencies have made the changes months ago?