Same sex couples gain
city benefit
By Ken Thorbourne,
The Jersey Journal, Monday, October 17, 2005
Jersey City employees who are part of
a same-sex couple can now pass along pension benefits to their significant other
-- the result of a resolution passed last week by the City Council.
The resolution, which passed 8-0 at Wednesday's meeting, is an outgrowth of the
Domestic Partnership Act signed into law last year by the former New Jersey Gov.
James McGreevey.
That law extended pension and health benefits to same-sex partners of state
employees and permitted municipalities to do the same, since their employees are
part of the same state-run health and pension benefit system. Last
September, Jersey City extended health benefits to the city employees who
registered as domestic partners.
"It is an issue of equality," City Council President Mariano Vega Jr. said.
"The state passed a law saying domestic partners are entitled to this and we
invoked it."
Gay rights advocates praised the City Council's vote, but said their fight isn't
over.
"We are thrilled with this step toward equal treatment of all of Jersey City's
employees," said Walt Boraczek, executive director of Jersey City Lesbian and
Gay Outreach.
"However, equality will never be achieved one right at a time," Boraczek added.
"Equality will only be equaled when the status of our relationships are the
equivalent of the status of marriage."
The pension benefit for same-sex partners is really limited to the accidental
death benefit, since retirees already had the ability of naming any person as a
beneficiary for the pension benefit. But now, an eligible domestic partner
also will be able to receive a pension benefit if the partner died by accident
in the performance of his or her duty while at work, according to a state Web
site.
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