Beginning July 1, 2004, Miami University will be offering benefits for same-sex domestic partners of faculty and staff members. Below are brief answers to important questions about the policy change:

Q: Who is eligible for these benefits?

A: Any faculty or staff member who is already eligible for benefits from Miami. If you work part-time and thus are not eligible for benefits, neither would be your domestic partner. However, part-time faculty and staff members are allowed to buy health and dental coverage for a spouse or children, and that same opportunity will be extended to those with domestic partners.

Q: What benefits are included?

A: The full suite of benefits now offered by Miami, such as health and dental insurance, tuition remission, ticket discounts, sick leave for family and medical purposes, and recreational membership.

The policy that prohibits faculty and staff members from supervising members of their immediate families will be expanded to include domestic partners.

Q: How much will it cost the university to offer these benefits?

A: Surprisingly, not much. By far the largest costs would result from extending health and dental insurance benefits, but research by Mercer Human Resource Consulting shows that typically well less than 1% of faculty and staff members use same-sex partner benefits if available. If that percentage holds true in Miami's case, the additional costs would be only about $50,000-100,000 a year. Miami currently pays about $22 million a year in insurance benefits and $50 million in total benefits.

Q: How do I enroll?

A: An initial enrollment period is set for July 1-Sept. 30 of this year. To receive any of the benefits, you will need to sign an affidavit certifying, among other items, that you have a domestic partner with whom you have maintained a long-term committed relationship and intend to do so indefinitely, and that you share a residence and financial obligations. The benefits would then be effective on the first day of the month after you enroll.

Q: Will I have to pay taxes on the benefits?

A: It depends. You need to speak with your tax advisor to get complete information, but some of the costs of providing domestic partner benefits may be considered taxable income by the IRS.

Q: Didn't the Ohio legislature forbid universities from providing domestic partner benefits when it passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in April, 2004?

A: No, to the contrary, Gov. Bob Taft in signing the DOMA legislation noted that the bill allows universities to provide domestic partner benefits, and that state law gives university boards of trustees "the discretion to decide to whom they will offer benefits."

Q: Will these benefits also be available to those with opposite-sex domestic partners?

A: No.

Q. Is Miami the first university in Ohio to provide domestic partner benefits?

A: Several private colleges in Ohio provide full domestic partner benefits and a few public universities have been offering limited benefits for years, but Miami will be the first to extend full benefits including medical and dental coverage. However, in doing so Miami will be following the practice of some 150 other universities, including 70 percent of those in the Association of American Universities. In addition, approximately 130 state and local governments and 185 of the Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partner benefits.

Forms

Affidavit of Same-Sex Domestic Partnership (pdf)

Affidavit of Termination of Domestic Partner Status (pdf)