The Board of Directors for the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) has voted to extend health and welfare benefits to Domestic Partners of DC WASA employees who were hired after 1987.

“Across the country, the makeup of families is changing,” said DC WASA General Manager Jerry N. Johnson.” Human resources policies in governmental agencies and the corporate world alike are beginning to reflect these changes. We at DC WASA recognized the trend in changing familial structures and sought to provide the same health and welfare benefits to unmarried partners of DC WASA employees that are offered to employee spouses.”

Qualified domestic partners would receive the same benefits that are extended to spouses of DCWASA employees. These include medical, dental, vision, life insurance, COBRA and FMLA and leave policies.

Benefits may be provided to same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners of employees. The partners must sign an Affidavit of Domestic Partnership and provide two proofs of financial interdependency to initiate benefits. The employee will incur the cost of filing documents.

In order to terminate benefits, a Termination of Domestic Partnership must be signed by both partners and filed with DC WASA. Insurance coverage of the domestic partner would be terminated six months after the termination is filed.

The decision to extend benefits to Domestic Partners stemmed from a recommendation by the DCWASA Board of Directors Human Resources and Labor Relations Committee, after benchmarking programs at other utilities and throughout the region.

Domestic Partner benefits are effective January 1, 2010.

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About The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) is an industry-leading authority of District government that provides drinking water and wastewater collection and treatment for a population of more than 500,000 in the District of Columbia. DC WASA also treats wastewater for a population of 1.6 million in Montgomery and Prince Georges counties in Maryland, and Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. The Authority operates the world’s largest advanced wastewater treatment plant, with a capacity of 370 million gallons per day and a peak daily capacity of more than a billion gallons. DC WASA’s service area covers approximately 725 square miles.