University of Vermont links benefits to marriage - and civil unions

MONTPELIER, Vt. - The University of Vermont is giving its gay employees until the end of 2001 to enter a civil union with their partners or they will no longer receive domestic-partner benefits.

The decision was made to treat the ''circumstances of married couples and civil union couples consistently,'' according to a school memorandum sent to 30 affected employees Tuesday and Wednesday.

''If we did one but not the other we wouldn't be very consistent,'' university spokesman Enrique Corredera said.

Vermont is the first state to allow gay couples to enter into a legal relationship akin to marriage. There is still a dispute, however, as to whether employers in the state are required to provide spousal benefits to couples in civil unions because company insurance policies are primarily regulated by federal law.

The University of Vermont has provided health insurance and other benefits to the domestic partners of its employees since the early 1990s. Now, with the civil union law in effect, the school says gay employees must enter a civil union by Dec. 31, 2001, if they want the benefits for their partners.

''How odd that UVM should stand out as one of the first workplaces in Vermont to withdraw their same-sex benefits clause,'' wrote one dismayed staff member in an e-mail to university President Judith Ramaley. ''The ink on the civil union law is barely dry.''

New employees will have to certify that they are married or civilly unified to get spousal benefits, which include health and life insurance, access to university facilities and free tuition. New employees from out of state who want domestic partner benefits will have 90 days to enter a civil union to get the benefits.

One employee who will continue to get domestic-partner benefits is Holly Puterbaugh, a lecturer in the math department. She was a plaintiff in the lawsuit that resulted in a state Supreme Court decision that found Vermont's marriage law unconstitutional because it denied the benefits of marriage to gays and lesbians.

The decision prompted the Legislature to pass the civil union law, and Puterbaugh entered a civil union with her partner, Lois Farnham, on July 1, the day the law took effect.

Gay couples have ''been arguing: 'Treat us the same as you treat everybody else,''' Puterbaugh said. ''I was not at all surprised that they've come out saying same-gender couples have to legalize their relationships if they want to keep their benefits. It seems to me to be fair and equitable.''

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