Sexual Orientation

Employee Benefits for Same-Sex Couples

Same-sex couples are prohibited from marrying in most states. Even so, it has become increasingly common for employers to offer health insurance and other benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of employees on the same terms as those benefits are offered to spouses. In fact, colleges and universities were among the first sectors to widely adopt domestic partner benefits; university faculty and staff members were plaintiffs in key court cases seeking such benefits in Alaska (University of Alaska v. Tumeo, 1997), New Jersey (Rutgers Council of AAUP Chapters v. Rutgers, 1997), and Oregon (Tanner v. Oregon Health Sciences University, 1998).

Institutions of higher education adopting domestic partner benefits usually have explained that such benefits are necessary both to advance economic justice and to remain competitive with peer institutions in attracting and retaining the best faculty and staff. Such benefits are offered at more than 300 campuses, according to the Human Rights Campaign, and typically include not only subsidized health insurance but also such perquisites as tuition discounts and access to campus libraries and recreational facilities.

Early court challenges to such benefits, based, for example, on the theory that such programs at public universities infringed on legislative prerogatives to [Page 415]define marriage, were generally unsuccessful. However, in National Pride at Work v. Governor of Michigan (2008), the state supreme court ruled that a voter-approved amendment to the state's constitution prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriages was worded broadly enough to bar public employers in the state, including universities, from offering benefits to same-sex domestic partners.

Discrimination, Harassment, and Viewpoint Neutrality

Officials at many colleges and universities have sought to prevent legal complaints over discrimination and harassment against LGBT students, as well as to improve campus climate and encourage dialogue on issues surrounding sexual orientation, through their student-services programs. To this end, more than 150 campuses maintain professionally staffed offices dedicated to providing support for LGBT students. Moreover, programs and courses devoted to the promotion of diversity typically include units devoted to sexual orientation and gender identity. In addition to addressing these issues as personal matters, such courses often include discussion of legal and political controversies surrounding LGBT rights.

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