Domestic Partner Benefits
On June 29, 2009 Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law a state budget authorizing the provision of health insurance benefits to same- and opposite-sex domestic partnerships. The budget also authorized the creation of a same-sex domestic partner registry. UW-Madison and all UW-System schools now provide domestic partner benefits.
For several years prior to the passage of this budget, the UW-Madison had supported the need to provide benefits for domestic partners equal to those it provides to partners legally permitted to marry in the state of Wisconsin. Until the passage of this budget, its ability to do so completely was limited by the State of Wisconsin's refusal to provide health insurance benefits to domestic partners and by the passage of an amendment to the state constitution that recognized "only a marriage between one man and one woman [as] valid or recognized" and prohibited "a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals" from being recognized. Many UW-Madison faculty, staff, students and administrative leaders strongly oppossed passage of this admendment.
This page provides links to:
Information and Resources
- Information about Domestic Partner Benefits
- Summary of Domestic Partner Benefits
- Affidavit of Domestic Partnership — required in order to receive health insurance benefits for domestic partners
- The Wisconsin Family and Medical Leave Act(WFMLA) — provides job-protected leave to care for a domestic partner or his/her parents
- Domestic Partner Registry
- UW–System Inclusivity Initiative for LGBTQ People
News
Campus Opposition to the Marriage Amendment
- Statement from WISELI
- Statement by the UW-Madison Committee on Women
- Statement by the University Committee
- Statement by Chancellor John Wiley
- Marriage Amendment Listening Session
- UW-Madison Committee on Women in the University Resolution Calling for Repeal of the November 2006 Constitutional Amendment and for Domestic Partnership Benefits (PDF)