Health Benefits for domestic partners

Greensboro employees are without benefits to non-married couples, while three cities and two counties in NC provide the benefits.





Greensboro, NC -- City officials in Greensboro have not yet offered benefits to its employees' unmarried domestic partners because the state's top legal official hasn't decided whether it is within the law.



The state Human Relations Commission recommended extending health insurance to the partners, whether they are same sex or not, of employees in early 2004.



The city asked Attorney General Roy Cooper to issue an official interpretation of the law to determine if the move was legal. It's been almost a year, and Cooper still has not responded to the request.



State Justice Department spokeswoman Noelle Talley said Cooper's office had received the request, but would not comment on the timing of the long-awaited decision.



While three cities and two counties in North Carolina provide benefits to non-married couples, Charlotte does not because of a 2003 decision to make it illegal.



Deputy City Attorney Becky Jo Peterson-Buie said Greensboro is looking to Cooper for a statewide decision.



"We will not go ahead without an opinion," she said.



Sue Mengert, chairwoman of the Human Relations Commission said the policy should extend to unmarried couples to compare what private companies are doing.



"The City of Greensboro's employment practices need to be welcoming to everyone in order to attract and retain the best people," Mengert wrote to City Manager Ed Kitchen. State law gives local governments the power to buy health insurance for "employees and their dependents," but the term "dependents" is not defined.