Saturday, December 14, 2002
Minneapolis want contractors to provide domestic partner benefits
A story published today by the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the city of Minneapolis will require businesses with contracts of more than $100,000 to provide domestic partner benefits to their employees within a year.
After extensive debate, the City Council on Friday passed an ordinance 8 to 4 imposing the requirement.
The measure's lead sponsor, Council Member Gary Schiff, initially proposed requiring the benefits for same-sex domestic partners.
Schiff changed it Friday to include opposite-sex partners, in part to comply with the city's definition of domestic partners.
The ordinance contains many exceptions, including development contracts, faith-based organizations and businesses with 21 or fewer employees.
Mayor R.T. Rybak said he will sign the measure, calling it a small step in the right direction.
Council Member Barret Lane made the case against the proposal, saying that it was outside the core mission of the city and that he saw no connection between the quality of goods and services and a firm providing these benefits.
"It's frankly unfair to reach out to the private sector and require contractors to do that which we cannot do," Lane said.
Council Member Scott Benson disputed the opponents' arguments. "It has everything to do with our city mission. Who we contract with and who we do business with is core to our city mission," he said.
He noted that a business that doesn't want to provide benefits doesn't have to contract with the city.
The ordinance would define domestic partner as a person who has a partnership registered with a governmental body.
The council, however, rejected on a 9 to 3 vote an attempt by
Council Member Barbara Johnson to substantially broaden the definition of domestic partner to include nieces and nephews, siblings, parents, grandchildren and in-laws.
