Mayor Signs Domestic Partner Law for Firms Dealing With S.F.
Businesses that contract with the city must extend health insurance and other benefits to the unmarried partners of their workers under legislation signed Friday by Mayor Willie Brown.
The ordinance, which takes effect within six months, is expected to affect thousands of private companies doing business with the city.
“It’s really just a matter of fairness,” said city Supervisor Leslie Katz, who introduced the legislation months ago with fellow Supervisor Tom Ammiano. Both are gay.
Other benefits covered under the ordinance include bereavement and family medical leave.
San Francisco city and county workers already receive domestic partner benefits.
More than 3,500 couples are registered as domestic partners in the city, and Katz estimated that the new law would benefit as many as 1,000 of them.
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