Same-sex domestic partners who meet certain standards (including having been married in a state that allows such marriages) already are eligible for the FLTCIP insurance program, some relocation benefits, child care subsidies for lower-income employees, and various services such as employee assistance programs. In addition, employees may usesick leave to care for them, and may provide "insurable interest" annuities. Because the laws and policies governing those benefits do not speak of spouses but rather of family members, the Obama administration was able to extend those benefits by redefining, in a series of memos and regulations, who is a qualifying family member.
