Illinois Governor to Sign Civil Unions Bill Giving Same-sex Couples Additional Benefits & Protections
During the Illinois legislature’s fall 2010 veto session, lawmakers passed the historic “Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act” (IL S 1716). The bill defines “civil union” as a legal relationship between 2 persons of either the same or opposite sex established pursuant to the Act, and its purpose is to provide individuals who are parties to a civil union “the same legal obligations, responsibilities, protections, and benefits as are afforded or recognized by the law of Illinois to spouses, whether they derive from statute, administrative rule, policy, common law, or any other source of civil or criminal law.”
The law will not only give legal recognition to same-sex couples who enter into legally recognized civil unions, but will give them some of the same employment protections and benefits automatically available to married employees. For private employers, the bill’s greatest significance relates to employee benefits, especially health insurance, and family leave benefits. For that reason, employers are encouraged to review applicable labor laws and examine their own policies for compliance in anticipation of the new law. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn is expected to sign the bill in early January, 2011. Once signed, the law will go into effect June 1, 2011.