We understand that the process of complying with the City of San Francisco’s Equal Benefits Ordinance may appear daunting at times, but please keep in mind we are here to help and to date over 14,000 firms have been certified as compliant with the City’s Equal Benefits Ordinance.
- For an overview of the compliance process and some helpful hints, please start by reading these sections:
- Additional information is provided in these sections:
- To make sure you complete the right forms and complete them fully and correctly please read these sections:
- Additional Publications
- Contact Us - Staff Directory
How do I Comply with the Equal Benefits Ordinance (Overview)?
To begin, your firm must submit a completed, signed 12B-101 Declaration Form. If your firm has employees and offers benefits to these employees, then your firm must also submit copies of benefits documentation for each benefit offered.
If after completing the Form 12B Declaration you realize that your firm is currently not in compliance with the Equal Benefits Ordinance and that you require additional time to update your personnel policies or to renegotiate union or medical benefit agreements, then you may submit a 12B-103 Substantial Compliance Authorization Request Form. This Request will be reviewed by the Human Rights Commission’s Compliance Officers and if granted, will allow your firm to enter into an agreement with the City while the firm works to end discrimination in its benefits. Proof that that discrimination in benefits has ended is required for final payment.
What can I do to make this Process as Quick as Possible (Helpful Hints)?
The certification process does take a bit of time; here are a few helpful hints that will greatly expedite your firm’s certification process:
1. Start early. Ideally, when you submit a response to a RFP or ROI you should also submit Form HRC-12B-101 and copies of your firm’s benefits policies so that our office can begin processing your application.
2. Submit your firm’s benefits documentation. In our experience the single biggest factor in delaying the compliance determination of new vendor is that the vendor does not submit its benefits to support the statements made on Form HRC-12B-101. The Human Rights Commission cannot begin to certify your application until you submit your firm’s benefits documentation for each benefit identified in Section 2.C. of Form HRC-12B-101.
3. Use this definition of Domestic Partner in all personnel policies and benefits documentation. San Francisco law defines Domestic Partner as “any person who has a currently registered domestic partnership with a governmental body pursuant to State or local law authorizing such registration.” This includes both same-sex and opposite sex couples. To comply with the law, verification of domestic partnerships may take place only to the same degree and in the same manner as marriages are verified. I.e. your firm’s policies cannot have a higher burden of proof for domestic partnerships than marriages.
4. Read this entire page. We have developed the content of this page based on years of experience working with vendors. We believe that if you read this page most of your questions will be answered.
5. Contact Us. If after reading this page and our forms you are not sure how to precede, please call or email us. A little up front time speaking with one of our Compliance Officers can go a long way to ensuring that the documentation you submit to our Office addresses our standards needs.
What is the Equal Benefits Ordinance?
The Equal Benefits Ordinance, as Chapters 12B and 12C of the San Francisco Administrative Code are commonly referred to, prohibits the City of San Francisco from entering into contracts or leases with entities (which do more than $5,000 worth of business with the City per year) that discriminate against their employees in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses or discriminate against employees or others that are members of protected classes.
How does the City Enforce the Equal Benefits Ordinance?
The City has separate standards to enforce the two non-discrimination sections of the Equal Benefits Ordinance. The standard for certifying compliance with the Equal Benefits for Employees with Spouses and Employees with Domestic Partners is higher than the standard for Protected Classes.
Equal Benefits for Employees with Spouses and Employees with Domestic Partners. To certify that an entity does not discriminate in the provision of benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between domestic partners and spouses of employees, the City reviews each entity’s 12B-101 Declaration Form and if the entity has employees and offers benefits, the documentation for each benefit the entity offers to any of its employees is reviewed to ensure that benefits are offered in a nondiscriminatory manner. Additional information on the criteria that the City uses to determine if benefits are “nondiscriminatory” is provided below.
Protected Classes. To certify that an entity does not discriminate against its employees, applicants for employment, employees of the City or members of the public on the basis of the fact or perception of a person’s membership in a protected class, the City reviews the entity’s 12B-101 Declaration Form responses to question 1, parts A and B, and confirms that the entity has signed the 12B-101 Declaration Form.
Does the Ordinance apply to me?
The Ordinance applies to all entities that seek to directly enter into a contract or lease with the City and County of San Francisco, including for public works or improvements, for a franchise, concession or lease of City property, or services or supplies to be purchases at the expense of the City or County. In addition, each party to a joint venture is required to comply with the Ordinance on an individual basis.
The Ordinance does not apply to entities that do less $5,000 worth of business with the City per year, or to subcontractors that indirectly receive payments from the City.
What City Department is Authorized to Determine if an Entity Complies with the Equal Benefits Ordinance?
The Human Rights Commission (HRC) is delegated authority by the Equal Benefits Ordinance “to do all acts and exercise all powers” including “to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of the nondiscrimination provisions of this Chapter” to ensure that the City does not “execute or amend any contract or property contract with any contractor that discriminates in the provision” benefits between employees with domestic partners and employees with spouses, and/or between the domestic partners and spouses of employees.
As stated in the Ordinance: “the intent of the Board of Supervisors is to equalize to the maximum extent legally permitted the total compensation between similarly situated employees with spouses and employees with domestic partners.”
What Forms do I Need to Submit to the Human Rights Commission?
The Human Rights Commission uses the below forms to administer enforcement of the Equal Benefits Ordinance.
Z2B-101 Declaration Form
Must be submitted by all entities seeking to enter into a contract or lease with the City for more than $5,000 worth of business per year.
12B-102 Reasonable Measures Application
May be submitted by entities that are due to factors outside their control unable to find an insurance company willing to offer domestic partner coverage or that find that a federal law prohibits extending a particular benefit to domestic partners on the same basis as it is extended to spouses. Please note that currently there are insurance providers in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that provide coverage to Domestic Partners, so Reasonable Measures Applications are granted on an extremely limited basis.
12B-103 Substantial Compliance Authorization Request
May be submitted by entities that have expressed a commitment to update their personnel policies and benefits to end discrimination in benefits but require additional time to do so. This Request will be reviewed by the Human Rights Commission’s Compliance Officers and if granted, will allow your firm to enter into an agreement with the City while your firm works to end discrimination in its benefits. Up to three months of additional time will be granted for your firm to updates its personnel policies, if justified by the administrative steps required, and a delay of up to the next open enrollment period for benefits will be granted, if written justification and evidence of intent to end discrimination at the next open period is provided. Proof that that discrimination in benefits has ended is required for final payment.
How Does the Human Rights Commission Determine if my Policies and Benefits are Compliant with the Requirements of the Equal Benefits Ordinance?
As a first step, the Human Rights Commission Compliance Officer assigned to your application reviews your 12B-101 Declaration Form. If you have indicated that your firm has employees and offers benefits, then the Compliance Officer will review the benefits documentation that you provided with your Declaration Form. If your firm did not provide benefits documentation, then the Compliance Officer will contact you and request that you submit supporting documentation for each benefit that you offer, as noted above this is the biggest cause of delay in the certification process.
The first guideline for supporting documentation is that we need the pages of your company's employee handbook that describe each of the benefits that your company offers. Where spouses are referenced, domestic partners should be included. If, for example, in the bereavement policy, a spouse's family members (in-laws) are also referenced, then the equivalent members of a domestic partner's family must be included.
The second guideline is that when a benefit is administered by a third party, we need confirmation directly from the third party or your company's contract with them. If documentation for a specific benefit does not exist, attach an explanation.
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Benefit Type |
Human Rights Commission Definition/Standard/Sample |
Acceptable Documentation |
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Health Insurance |
Domestic Partner must be defined as: “any person whose domestic partnership is currently registered with a governmental body pursuant to state or local law”. In addition, there can be no requirements for proof of relationship or waiting periods that are not also applied to married couples.
If continuation coverage is available to spouses and step-children, the insurer should confirm that COBRA-like continuation coverage is available to domestic partners and their children. |
Letter or email message from carrier OR you may submit the cover page, eligibility section, and other relevant sections of the Basic Plan Document.
We cannot accept letters from brokers, enrollment forms, or Summary Plan Descriptions. |
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Dental Insurance |
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Vision Insurance |
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Dependent Life Insurance |
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Employee Assistance Program |
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Retirement (Pension 401(k) etc.) |
Domestic Partner must be defined as: “any person whose domestic partnership is currently registered with a governmental body pursuant to state or local law”. In addition, there can be no requirements for proof of relationship or waiting periods that are not also applied to married couples.
Documentation for any retirement/savings plan that is offered that confirms that the distribution options are the same for spouse and non-spouse beneficiaries. |
A copy of the cover page and the distribution section of the Summary Plan Description, Basic Plan Document, or the Adoption Agreement of your 401 (k) plan or pension plan or other retirement plan
If your company uses a prototype plan, please send the Adoption Agreement as well.
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Bereavement Leave |
Where the term "spouse" is used, the term "domestic partner" should be included.
The definition of "immediate family" must be defined in the bereavement policy and if it includes in-laws, the equivalent members of a domestic partner's family must be explicitly included.
Domestic Partner must be defined as: “any person whose domestic partnership is currently registered with a governmental body pursuant to state or local law”. |
A copy of your Employee handbook policies for all benefits.
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Family Leave |
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Parental Leave |
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Relocation & Travel |
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Company Discount, Facilities & Events |
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Credit Union |
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Child Care |
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Other: |
If your firm offers other benefits please specify and provide documentation. |
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- Equal Benefits Ordinance Overview (PDF)
