Does an employee’s longtime live-in girlfriend qualify as a registered domestic partner?

Many federal and state laws extend certain protections and benefits to registered domestic partners. However, being a “registered domestic partner” means more than just being a couple living together.

In California, registered domestic partners are those couples who have formally entered into a legal relationship by filing certain documents with the California Secretary of State. Couples who live together without such a legal filing are not entitled to the protections afforded to registered domestic partners.

Any two adults (over the age of 18) may enter into a domestic partnership by registering with the California Secretary of State.

Read more about Marital Status in the HR Library.