Court Orders Enforcement of New York City's Equal Benefits Law

On November 8th, a State Supreme Court Justice ruled that New York City must implement the Equal Benefits Law (“EBL”)1 that requires New York City contractors to provide equal employment benefits to domestic partners as such contractors provided for employees with spouses. See Council of the City of New York v. Michael R. Bloomberg, N.Y. Sup. Ct., No. 115214/04, 11/09/04. With the implementation of the EBL for City contractors, New York joins the ranks of several other major cities across the country that have passed similar legislation, including San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles.