Federal employees will be able to take leave to attend to their sick or deceased domestic partners beginning July 14, under final regulations issued today by the Office of Personnel Management.
Feds also will be able to take up to 13 days of sick leave to care for their domestic partners or their partners’ parents, children or grandchildren. And agencies will be able to advance feds up to 13 days of sick leave if they are out of leave.
Take note that these changes will apply equally to both unmarried heterosexual and homosexual domestic partnerships. The Obama administration recently extended long term care and other benefits to only same-sex domestic partnerships. OPM said that heterosexual partnerships were not included in those changes because straight couples can gain those benefits through marriage. The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage because of the Defense of Marriage Act.
