Rights of Domestic Partners Upheld As Miami-Dade County Commission Passes “The Domestic Partners and Family Health Coverage Ordinance”

  By an 8 to 4 vote, the Miami-Dade County Commission approved an ordinance that will ensure health insurance and civil rights for all Miami-Dade employees’ domestic partners. 

  Those Commissioners voting against the ordinance were: Dorrin D.Rolle,  Natacha Seijas., Joe A. Martinez, and  Jose “Pepe” Diaz.

  The benefits of this ordinance are enormous for the community:

 
* County employees would have the ability to provide health insurance for their domestic partner and their dependents.

    * Provides employees with domestic partners medical, sick leave and family leave that apply to employees with spouses.

    * Creates a domestic partner registry that employees of the county, residents, and visitors can use to officially register their domestic partnership.

    * The registry provides for hospital visitation rights at all hospitals in Miami-Dade County.

    * Simply put, the ordinance increases access to healthcare for ALL Miami-Dade County families.

    * Benefits for domestic partners, gay or straight, is good for county employees.

    * Miami-Dade County will finally join neighboring counties that offer domestic partner benefits making it competitive in recruiting and retaining quality employees.

    * These benefits are negligible in cost as attested to by the county's internal auditors.

    * The number of uninsured treated by Jackson Memorial at taxpayer expense will decrease.

    * Provides peace of mind for those employees whose loved ones are not insured.

    * The ordinance would address current workplace equality by providing benefits to all couples, married on unmarried, gay or straight.