David Weiner Quoted in SHRM Online
“Federal Law, Some State Laws Differ in Coverage of Children of Domestic Partners”

David Weiner was quoted in the May 20, 2010 SHRM Online article, “Federal Law, Some State Laws Differ in Coverage of Children of Domestic Partners.” The article discussed how the requirements for healthcare coverage of adult children of domestic partners vary by state and local ordinances.

According to the article, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) does not require employers to cover eligible adult children of an employee’s domestic partner, but some state laws do. David noted that local ordinances might require coverage of dependent children, as well. David pointed out, “To complicate matters, you also have laws like the one in San Francisco,” which requires companies that want to do business with the city to treat domestic partners the same as opposite-sex spouses. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) will pre-empt the state law if the employer is self-insured. David commented that a law like San Francisco’s ordinance probably is not pre-empted because it applies to the employer, not the plan. David added, “So, for both insured and self-insured plans, that law probably requires that you cover the kids of all partners if you include traditional stepchildren.”