California county mandates DP benefits for city contractors

The San Mateo, Calif., County board of supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to approve an ordinance requiring large county contractors to provide domestic-partner benefits to their employees, the Bay City News Service reports. The ordinance must be approved a second time by the board before becoming law. A similar law is already in effect in San Francisco. The county ordinance would require firms with city contracts of more than $5,000 to offer domestic-partner benefits to their workers. To qualify, couples must have their partnerships registered with the state.