County to require domestic partner benefits for companies it works with
The Dane County Board voted Thursday night to require companies that work for the county on contracts worth $5,000 or more to offer health benefits to their employees' domestic partners. The county already offers domestic partner benefits to its own employees.
The ordinance, which passed on a voice vote, also creates a registry for same-sex or other non-married domestic partners, a registry the city of Madison has had since 1990 but no other county in the state offers.
Domestic partners need to have been in a committed relationship for at least 90 days to register.
The measure, which was introduced in July, goes into effect December 1.
Sup. Kyle Richmond of Madison, primary sponsor of the ordinance which has been in the works for a year and a half, said the ordinance will make Dane County a leader in domestic partner benefits.
"It will be another reason to be proud to work in Dane County," he said.
The ordinance, which had 23 co-sponsors, generated opposition from trade union representatives, who said the law will put them at a competitive disadvantage and hurt their collective bargaining ability.
Scott Vaughn, executive director of the Building and Construction Trades Council of South Central Wisconsin, a trade organization that represents the interests of 4,000 construction union families, said his organization is not opposed to providing domestic partner benefits.
"Rather, we would like to see it amended to exclude collective bargaining agreements," he told the board.
None of his member unions has a contract that only covers Dane County, he said. Some local unions' agreements cover the whole state, he added.
The ordinance includes a "cash-equivalency" option, allowing companies that do not have domestic partner benefits to bid on county work so long as they pay employees with domestic partners the amount needed to cover what health benefits for the partner would cost.
Sup. Jack Martz of Fitchburg offered an amendment to eliminate collective bargaining from the ordinance but it failed on a 26-8 vote.
Dane County Board Chair Scott McDonell of Madison said exempting collective bargaining agreements would be a very large exemption for a very small problem. The cash equivalency option is a way to deal with the issue, he said.
Kim Turner, executive director of Options in Community Living, urged the board to give those with a domestic partner the same level of coverage as those with a legal spouse.
For more than 15 years, her organization has offered domestic partner coverage for benefit eligible employees who are unable to legally marry, she said.
"Our board of directors made the decision to offer equal benefits for a very simple reason: It was the right thing to do," Turner said.
By offering domestic partner coverage it has helped Options in Community Living attract and retain qualified employees, she said, noting that the costs associated with the coverage are minimal and are shared by the group of all eligible employees.
Kathleen Nichols, the first openly gay, non-incumbent candidate to be elected to the county board in the 1980s, asked the board for "lopsided passage" of the ordinance.
Nichols said she worked with Dick Wagner and other former board members to pass several ordinances that made it hard to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation.
The domestic partner benefit is not preferential treatment, it won't cost the county more money, and it shouldn't "be bargained," she said.
"I am here to say that all of those concerns were raised to oppose ending discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or offering domestic partner benefits to county employees," Nichols said.
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Kathleen Nichols, a former County Board member, said the county's domestic partner benefit plan is not preferential treatment, it won't cost the county more money, and it shouldn't "be bargained."
