The manual describes various strategies to achieve these benefits, dissects policies already enacted, and lists companies and municipalities already offering them. Also, there are profound drawbacks to this status when comparing it to legal marriage.
Partners further suggests that domestic partnership legislation codifies a second class status.
Currently, more than ten percent of all employers offer domestic partner benefits. Among companies with more than 5,000 employees, almost one quarter offer these benefits. More than 62 percent of Americans support domestic partners receiving equal access to inheritance benefits. Benefits comprise approximately 40 percent of a worker's compensation, employees who can obtain benefits for their spouses, are in effect, paid higher than employees in relationships, which are not legally recognized. The movement for domestic partnership benefits is rooted in the democratic notion of equal pay for equal work.