Domestic Partner or Spouse?
Kim I. Mills, HRC's education director and oversees HRC WorkNet. April 22, 2002
Q: Dear Kim,
I have recently been offered a job with a company that does not seem to offer domestic partner benefits. I have thoroughly reviewed the benefit package and looked them up on the HRC WorkNet listing. They refer to the eligible dependent as "spouse." Does spouse mean legally married? My partner wants me to name her as a dependent, but we are not legally married. Can I be fired or sued for doing this? Is this fraud?
Thank you,
Carolyn
A: Dear Carolyn,
As a general rule, when an employee benefits package refers to benefits for "spouses," it means the employee's legal husband or wife, not domestic partner. With the spread of domestic partner benefits, most human resources managers understand the clear differences between legal spouses and domestic partners and use those specific terms if that's what they mean.
The simplest, most direct way of finding out how your employer defines the term spouse is to ask. If the company does not include domestic partners in that definition, you could also ask if dependents are covered and, if so, how does the company define dependent?
The employer might rely on the Internal Revenue Service's definition of a dependent, which says, essentially, such a person must live with you and depend on you for more than 50 percent of his or her financial support. You can get more information on the government definition of a dependent from the publication Exemptions, Standard Deduction, and Filing Information (PDF format). If you claim your partner as a dependent and she does not fit the company's definition, then you could be in quite a bit of trouble -- and I think from your question that you already sense this!
Perhaps the wiser course of action would be to try to convince your new employer (if you take the job) to implement domestic partner benefits. There is a wealth of information on how to go about that on Work Life. I encourage you to take a look and consider making a solid business case for this employer to adopt these benefits.