Is it common business practice to allow employees to extend benefits to domestic partners?
A majority of Fortune 500 companies, 30% of the states, scores of Pennsylvania’s private-sector employers—including Aramark, CIGNA, Comcast, Lincoln National, PNC Financial Group, Unisys and Rite Aid—and the cities of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh already allow their employees to do so. And, with this program, Pennsylvania joins 15 states – Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington – in allowing employees to extend health benefits to domestic partners. What do I need to do to add a domestic partner? You should contact your agency’s office of human resources to certify that another person is your domestic partner. You must affirm, for example, that both partners are at least 18 years old, mentally competent to enter into a contract in Pennsylvania and that you have lived together on a continuous basis for at least six months. You must complete these forms, which are available at
