A little more than 2 dozen people, or 1 percent of Salt Lake City's 2,600 employees, may enroll in Mayor Rocky Anderson's domestic partners benefits program.

All told, 26 employees have requested packets to enroll their unmarried partners in the mayor's new benefits program. However, none of those employees had turned in those packets as of Tuesday. The deadline is Nov. 30.

The demand for Anderson's controversial employee benefits program, which is being fought over in court, seems to be going as expected. Across the nation, companies, governments and other employers who have extended health benefits to same-sex couples and unmarried heterosexual couples have seen about 1 percent to 2 percent of their employees take advantage.

Salt Lake City benefits administrator Jodi Langford said in an e-mail she didn't have a breakdown of how many of the 26 were gay couples verses heterosexual couples.

Meeting the Nov. 30 enrollment deadline doesn't mean the benefits will be immediately available.

Three city residents, represented by Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), have sued, charging Anderson's executive order that extended health benefits to non-married couples violates state law. A pair of state laws stating that marriage is between one man and one woman makes Anderson's move illegal, ADF attorneys have argued in court briefs.

The city's benefits administrator — the state-run Public Employees Health Program — also has asked a state judge to determine whether Anderson's order is legal before it will administer the benefits. That request came after some conservative state lawmakers publicly questioned the order's legality.

Until the legal issues are resolved, the city won't be able to officially start giving benefits to the unmarried partners of city employees.

ADF attorneys have asked the court to combine the two legal actions. Salt Lake City filed a memorandum saying it would not object to that as long as the issue can be settled quickly.

A hearing on the legal matters had been slated for Nov. 17 but was rescheduled for Jan. 5.

The ADF lawsuit says Anderson's order violates Utah's Defense of Marriage Act and the Utah Constitution by providing gay couples and unmarried heterosexual couples the same legal status as couples in traditional marriages. The state Constitution forbids marriage between people of the same gender and bars any other domestic union from receiving the same legal effect as a traditional marriage.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah has jumped into the legal fight on behalf of city employee Dianna Goodliffe and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. The civil liberties organization has filed a "friend of the court" brief outlining its contention that extending benefits is legal.