The Michigan Civil Service Commission voted today to honor agreements that will extend benefits to same sex partners of most state employees. Unions representing 70% of state employees were impacted by today's decision.
Detroit News excerpt:
Health benefits for same-sex partners were negotiated shortly before Michigan voters approved a 2004 ballot initiative that defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
In 2008, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled the ballot initiative banned public benefits for same-sex partners.
As a result, officials reworked agreements to scrap references to same-sex benefits and instead extended benefits to "other eligible individuals"— an unrelated housemate, limited to one per household. That's the form of agreement the commission approved today.