Employees of Eagle County will be able to apply for insurance benefits for same-sex partners next year.
“It had been requested, and the direction came from the county commissioners to do this,” County Human Resources Director Nora Fryklund told the Vail Daily in today’s editions.
Same-sex couples who ask for benefits will be treated like heterosexual couples in common-law marriages and will be interviewed to determine whether they qualify, Fryklund said.
“We’re just trying to be fair to everyone who works here,” she said.
Eagle County has more than 425 workers but Fryklund doesn’t expect many to apply.
“We might have had two people request them,” she said. “Maybe a half-dozen might qualify.” Some private businesses in the Vail area also provide same-sex partner benefits but few other governments do.
“We’ve done it for several years now,” Vail Resorts spokeswoman Kelly Ladyga said. “It’s important for us, and it is used.”
