City Works Out Details of Domestic Partnership Benefits Ordinance

The City of Easton moved a step closer to becoming the fifth municipality in Pennsylvania to between same-sex couples and extend equal employment benefits to all city employees regardless of sexual orientation Tuesday evening.

Hammering out the final changes in wording and fine-tuning details at a workshop meeting, the council and mayor all expressed support for the measure, but said they wanted to make sure the wording reflected the intent—to treat all city employees equally regardless of sexual orientation.

“They should mirror the same benefits as married couples,” said Councilman Michael Fleck, who sponsored the proposal.

Under the new law, city employees wishing to receive benefits would register their partnership and provide proof of their co-habitation and long-term commitment to each other through the presentation of documents such as mortgage and lease agreements, shared bank accounts and other proof of joint finances.

The partners will have to have cohabited and have not been in any other relationship for at least six months for the city to recognize the partnership.

Married city employees provide similar proof to the city to share benefits with their spouses, officials said.

In the event that same-sex marriage is legalized in Pennsylvania, registered domestic partners would have 90 days to marry and legally cement the union, or forfeit their spousal benefits.

“We think a 90-day window is fair,” said Adrian Shanker, vice-president of the Pennsylvania Diversity Network (PDN).

Domestic partnerships are recognized only in states where same-sex couples are unable to legally wed, he said.

Mayor Sal Panto and Councilman Roger Ruggles both said they wanted to ensure the wording of the new rules will not allow those other than committed same-sex couples to gain access to spousal benefits at the expense of the city.

“We catch people. We've caught people (in the last audit) that shouldn't have received benefits,” Panto said. “We're not talking about the honest people here.”

Because Pennsylvania and federal law doesn't grant same-sex couples the same tax breaks married couples get, the domestic partnership benefits are unlikely to be abused, said PDN executive director Liz Bradbury.

“There just isn't any fraud. One thing we can demonstrate in Allentown is that no one took the (medical and pension) benefits. They cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars, and they have to pay taxes on it,” she said. “A mixed sex couple is far more likely to (cheat) because they don't have to pay tax on the benefits.”

Despite this, employees may still opt to register as domestic partners.

“Even if you're not taking medical benefits, you still want to be registered because you want the other benefits, like being able to say, 'I need some time off because my partner is sick,'” Shanker said.

The new rules will apply to existing city employees only, Panto said.

“I don't believe a retiree from 20 years ago should be able to come back and claim benefits,” Panto said.

Bradbury said this is unlikely to be an issue, even if the city were to include former employees.

“How many 85-year-old gay police retirees do you actually have?” she asked.

Noting in most places, “legally, we're strangers,” West Ward residents Earl Ball and Tim Hare, together for 35 years and officially married in Canada, Massachusetts and Connecticut, expressed their appreciation for council's move.

“I'm finding another reason I'm glad I live in Easton. I commend you. Thank you,” Ball said.

“It's so enjoyable watching segregation end, before my eyes,” Hare said. “It's ugly, it's unjust, but I'm glad Easton is taking steps to end it.”

“We were engaged for 27 years,” Hare added. “I don't know many heterosexual people that would put up with that.”

Fleck said the final changes to the resolution will be drawn up and reviewed by the city's legal counsel, and the council is likely to approve it at their meeting on May 25.