Washington's Domestic Partnership Law, which went into effect on December 3, 2009, provides that for all purposes, registered domestic partners must be treated the same as married spouses, unless doing so would conflict with state law. "Registered domestic partners" include same-sex domestic partners, and also opposite-sex domestic partners, provided one of them is at least 62 years old.
This new law will have a significant affect on all businesses that provide employment benefits, especially benefits mandated under state and/or federal law, such as family medical leave, which conflict in some respects. In practice, administering benefits in light of the conflicts between state and federal law can be complicated. You can read more about this topic on Ater Wynne's Northwest Business Litigation blog, here.
