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Domestic Partner Labor Law

April 21st, 2007 Posted by Mark

A new law on the federal level could require that employers give their employees benefits to their partners, not just spouses. This law, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives a couple weeks ago, would give the same rights to so called domestic partners of gay, bi sexual and transgender workers, as well as workers who are in man-woman relationships in the same house and for an extended period of time yet not married.

Like I said, this law has been on the table in the House for a couple of weeks, but all of thi federal minimum wage and state minimum wage talk has kept me busy during that time. Otherwise, I would have gotten to it sooner. Please accept my apologies, my loyal readers. Anyway, getting back to the topic, the new law was proposed by Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat from Washington state.

His reasoning was that every American worker deserves to get equal treatment under the law, especially when it comes to employer sponsored health care plans and other benefits. The law is called the Tax Equity for Health Plan Beneficiaries Act. McDermott is a pretty important member of the House. He is the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee. He is also a member of the House Select Revenue Subcmiittee, so he could be a person to get such a bill passed.

He has already supposedly started to gather support from both Democrats and Republicans for his new law, according to my sources. In the Senate, he has the teamwork of Sen. Charles Schumer, a Democrat from New York, and Sen. Gordon H. Smith, a Republican from Oregon, who plan to introduce a similar law there soon, possibly within the end of the month.