More and more, employers are offering their unmarried workers health and other benefits for their spousal equivalents -- often called "domestic partners."

Over 2,000 private employers offer health and other benefits to employees for domestic partners.
Today, over 50 cities and counties and seven states offer such benefits.

Costs are low.

The administrative costs of implementing domestic partner benefits are insignificant.
The accruing costs of domestic partner benefits are exactly comparable to the costs of adding spouses when employees marry. Many domestic partner benefits, like family leave and access to company facilities, cost employers next to nothing. Fears about high HIV-related costs have been shown to be unwarranted; insurers are not increasing premiums or other costs for employers who provide domestic partner benefits.

Risks of adverse selection -- less healthy spousal equivalents enrolling at a higher rate than healthy spousal equivalents -- have proven no greater than for married spouses.
Cost aside, it's the right thing to do. Employee benefits are a significant part of worker compensation, yet traditionally have been available for the families of married employees but not for the families of most unmarried employees. A benefit that recognizes marriage as the only vehicle for extending benefits to workers' long-term committed partners is unfair to many employees.

D.P. benefits make good personnel -- and public -- policy.

To recruit and retain valuable employees, employers improve their competitiveness by offering these benefits. A fair benefits policy promotes good morale and company loyalty; it makes clear that lesbian and gay employees are valued members of the workforce.

Employees are more productive in an environment where they know that their families are secure and that their employers respect them regardless of sexual orientation and marital status. Polls show the vast majority of the American public believe that lesbians and gays should be free from discrimination in the workplace. Companies which promote fair work conditions have a more positive public image. Domestic partner benefits shield the public from the health care costs that must be absorbed for people who are uninsured. Domestic but not equal: benefits for gay couples and other domestic partners are still inferior to those for employees who can get benefits for spouses.

Employees with civil marriages need to provide, at most, marriage certificates for spouses to qualify for benefits; domestic partners often must provide extensive documentation to "prove" their relationships. With domestic partner benefits, employees pay for coverage with post-tax dollars, and then must pay taxes on the employers' share of payment for the benefits as added income. Married employees pay no taxes on benefits they receive. Opponents are dwindling and largely limited to small anti-gay groups and religious extremists.

Lambda has advised many municipalities and other employers about this issue and serves as a resources about related legal issues.

From Lambda Legal . Visit their website for much more information.