Salt Lake County may offer same-sex benefits

Domestic partners of Salt Lake County employees may soon be eligible for a full range of insurance benefits if council members sign off on a new ordinance today.

But the proposal, pushed by Democratic council members Jenny Wilson and Joe Hatch, will likely meet resistance from the council's more conservative majority.

"As a society we have awarded certain privileges to married couples and certain social status and economic benefits," Councilman Cort Ashton said. "I think that comes from an inherited value of the nuclear family."

Ashton added that he believes residents already made up their minds on the issue when they approved Amendment 3 in November to exclude gay and lesbian couples from legal marriage.

But Wilson said the ordinance is not about marriage and only aims to equal the scales at the county, which would become the first government in Utah to offer full benefits to domestic partners. Wilson's ordinance would expand those benefits to partners who have shared the same residence for at least a year and are jointly responsible for living expenses.

Under Wilson's proposal, domestic partners and their children would be eligible for all of the same benefits now granted to married employees, including health, dental and life insurance, as well as extended funeral leave and sick leave to care for a dependent.

"By not allowing this, we're in some way discriminating to those who are living in monogamous long-term relationships," Wilson said. "I think that insurance plans can be more important in many cases to a family than the wage."

To get the benefits, both partners would have to sign an affidavit that they are at least 18 years old, are not related by blood and are responsible for each other's welfare. If asked, the applicant must also produce documentation of a joint lease or a joint car payment.

Baed on private companies that offer partner benefits, Wilson estimates only between 1 percent and 2 percent of county employees would apply for the coverage, translating to a total annual cost of between $37,000 and $74,000 for the county.

"It's a low-cost way to allow a benefit to good employees who have chosen to live in monogamous relationships and who cannot get married to get the benefit," Wilson said.

Jane Marquardt, chairwoman of Equality Utah — a statewide gay, lesbian and transgender advocacy group — said the step to "treat employees fairly" would be a bold, overdue move by Salt Lake County and an example to other governments.

Although some public schools such as the University of Utah offer limited insurance policies for partners, most of the Salt Lake companies that offer similar benefits are private, she said.