Ten percent of employers nationwide now offer benefits to domestic partners, including some of the largest corporations in the country. Forty colleges and universities in the U.S. already offer domestic partner benefits, including many with which the UCs compete to recruit top-notch employees. The argument over domestic partner benefits touches on the university's ability to attract the highest-quality staff and faculty. Most of those universities extend benefits to same-sex partners only, generally affecting between 0.5 and 2 percent of the workforce. Also at stake is whether the UCs are accessible to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employees.
Supporters argue that partnership benefits are a step toward mitigating homophobia.
The decision on domestic partner benefits faces time pressures, as more and more of the UC's organizational peers implement these benefits. Although President Atkinson has purview over housing benefits, he has reportedly been waiting for regent cooperation on health and retirement benefits before proceeding. In the meantime, the city of San Francisco has passed an ordinance limiting city contracts to employers who offer domestic partnership benefits.