|
||||
|
||||
|
Friday, Aug 29, 2008
|
||||
|
|||||||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
Schools redefine benefits policy |
|
 |
|
| Schools redefine benefits policy | |
|
by Isolde Raftery -
SGN Contributing Writer Last year, two Gay teachers approached teacher's union director Roy Maier, asking why their partners couldn't receive health benefits. On Monday, after a year of figuring out the details, the Vancouver school board approved a measure to extend health care benefits to same-sex partners of employees. The measure also applies to heterosexual couples in which one partner is older than 62. The measure was possible, said Associate Superintendent Lee Goeke, because of the state's newly launched domestic partner registry. The registry was enacted during the 2006 Legislative session and heralded as a civil rights breakthrough among Gay advocates. "Absent the registry," Goeke said, "the employer has to decide if the relationship constitutes a domestic partnership, and I don't know how we'd do that." To be sure, Vancouver Public Schools isn't at the helm of this movement. Washington and Oregon state governments, King County and Boeing - to name a few - have also extended benefits to domestic partners. Kaiser Permanente, the health care system, has provided same-sex partner benefits for more than 20 years. Evergreen Public Schools started providing benefits to domestic partners this fall. About 15 couples have signed on, said personnel manager Russ Roseberry. The City of Vancouver has been providing domestic partner benefits to its employees since 1998. Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, was on the city council then and remembers a heated discussion. Moeller said he was thrilled it was an easy decision for the Vancouver school board, and that the policy was in the consent agenda - an indication that the board members agreed with the policy and didn't deem it discussion-worthy. "A ripple effect is starting to happen," Moeller said. "Once a dam is broken regarding civil rights, which happened during the (Legislative) session before last, people start coming to acknowledge that these are things all families deserve." Moeller has benefited from such policies at the city and state levels. His former partner received City of Vancouver benefits when Moeller was a city councilman. He later received state benefits. Joshua Friedes, advocacy director of the Seattle-based group Equal Rights Washington, said the state's laws are catching up with society. "Offering domestic partner benefits makes sense if an employer is going to be competitive," Friedes said. "Why would you work for an employer that doesn't provide you with an equal benefits package?" A difference between the benefits of same-sex and married couples persists, however. The federal government doesn't recognize same-sex partnerships; therefore the health benefits of same-sex couples are taxed. By contrast, married couples aren't taxed. Though union director Maier approves of the school district's new policy, he believes that heterosexual partners have been left out. "There are a number of reasons people choose not to marry," Maier said. Goeke disagreed; he's going with the registry's definition of domestic partnership: Couples who share a residence, are at least 18, unmarried, of the same sex or have one partner who is at least 62 years old. "We're not trying to create an alternative for people who are otherwise able to get married," Goeke said. Courtesy of The Columbian |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 New!! LGBT & LGBT friendly "What's Happening WA" |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 post your own information on the Seattle Gay Blog |
copyright Seattle Gay News - DigitalTeamWorks 2007