Some employers are satisfied with the partners signing a written statement of their relationship. Some employers may require proof of some financial relationship, such as a joint lease or mortgage or copies of tax returns showing a financial interdependence. Whatever documentation is required must be germane to the issue of validating a domestic partnership, or it could lead to claims of invasion of privacy. However, most public attention involving domestic partner benefits involves employers that offer health insurance coverage to domestic partners. Eleven percent of workers worked in a firm that offered domestic partner coverage to same-sex couples and 12 percent of workers worked in firms that offered coverage to unmarried heterosexual couples.
Many employers have a formal policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
The decision to offer domestic partner benefits communicates to employees that the employer is committed to its stated policy. The attraction to employees of a comprehensive benefits package that offers health and retirement coverage is well-documented. In today's tight labor market, designing a benefits package that appeals to a diverse work force enables an employer to maintain a recruitment edge and communicates that the employer values a diverse work force. Employee morale and productivity has been found to improve in work environments where individuals believe the employer demonstrates that it values its employees. Hewitt Associates, in a 1994 study of domestic partner benefits, found that only 2-3 percent or less of all employees offered domestic partner coverage in the health plan actually elected to take it.