California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon currently provide the most comprehensive benefits for domestic partners.
Yes. Vermont was the first state to provide such benefits in 1994.
In jurisdictions where same-sex marriage is legalized, employers that provide health benefits to spouses of employees may not discriminate against same-sex spouses. This, in a way, mandates covering same-sex partners where, under domestic partnerships, coverage was voluntary.
For young employees, socialization can provide better benefits, pay and continuing education. Older employees can enjoy a proper retirement plan.
No, they do not give their employees domestic partner benefits, according to the Human Rights Campaign Foundation's Corporate Equality Index 2013, which gave Winn-Dixie Stores a 15% rating.
All US states allow insurance companies to sell and provide domestic partner coverage.
They can provide health care for their employees or they can provide information about low cost healthcare such as healthyprice.com where employees can purchase top quality healthcare for much lower prices.
Yes. However, in some states, domestic partnership coverage is not available and they would have to buy two individual policies. In some states, a married same-sex couple can be covered by a single family policy. Some employers will provide insurance benefits to the same-sex partners of their employees and ask only for a notarized affidavit stating that they are indeed partners. Other employees will require domestic partner registration, civil union or marriage to be eligible for the benefit. Employers are generally not required to grant spousal insurance benefits, but married same-sex couples may not be treated differently than other married couples, except by the (US) federal government. Generally, laws do not require domestic partner benefits, unless one is a municipal employee, or they are agreed upon in a union or individual contract, or the employee contracts with a local government that requires DP benefits as a condition of the contract.
Yes, they do.
Savings plans
The act gives domestic partners the same rights and responsibilities as a legally married couple, except for adoption, access to in vitro fertilization and altruistic surrogacy.
Such policies exist and are available for purchase in Tennessee. Whether your employer will be willing to pay for extending coverage to your domestic partner is another question. Under Tennessee law, neither the state government, nor any city, town or county in Tennessee is allowed to provide domestic partner benefits to its employees.