Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination

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Title 3--
The President

Memorandum of June 17, 2009

Federal Benefits and Non-Discrimination

Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and
Agencies

Millions of hard-working, dedicated, and patriotic
public servants are employed by the Federal Government
as part of the civilian workforce, and many of these
devoted Americans have same-sex domestic partners.
Leading companies in the private sector are free to
provide to same-sex domestic partners the same benefits
they provide to married people of the opposite sex.
Executive departments and agencies, however, may only
provide benefits on that basis if they have legal
authorization to do so. My Administration is not
authorized by Federal law to extend a number of
available Federal benefits to the same-sex partners of
Federal employees. Within existing law, however, my
Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of
State, who oversees our Foreign Service employees, and
the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, who
oversees human resource management for our civil
service employees, has identified areas in which
statutory authority exists to achieve greater equality
for the Federal workforce through extension to same-sex
domestic partners of benefits currently available to
married people of the opposite sex. Extending available
benefits will help the Federal Government compete with
the private sector to recruit and retain the best and
the brightest employees.

I hereby request the following:

Section 1. Extension of Identified Benefits. The
Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of
Personnel Management shall, in consultation with the
Department of Justice, extend the benefits they have
respectively identified to qualified same-sex domestic
partners of Federal employees where doing so can be
achieved and is consistent with Federal law.

Sec. 2. Review of Governmentwide Benefits. The heads of
all other executive departments and agencies, in
consultation with the Office of Personnel Management,
shall conduct a review of the benefits provided by
their respective departments and agencies to determine
what authority they have to extend such benefits to
same-sex domestic partners of Federal employees. The
results of this review shall be reported within 90 days
to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management,
who, in consultation with the Department of Justice,
shall recommend to me any additional measures that can
be taken, consistent with existing law, to provide
benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of Federal
Government employees.

Sec. 3. Promoting Compliance with Existing Law
Requiring Federal Workplaces to be Free of
Discrimination Based on Non-Merit Factors. The Office
of Personnel Management shall issue guidance within 90
days to all executive departments and agencies
regarding compliance with, and implementation of, the
civil service laws, rules, and regulations, including 5
U.S.C. 2302(b)(10), which make it unlawful to
discriminate against Federal employees or applicants
for Federal employment on the basis of factors not
related to job performance.

Sec. 4. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this
memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise
affect:

(i) Authority granted by law or Executive Order to an agency, or the head
thereof; or

(ii) Functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget
relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.

(b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent
with applicable law and subject to the availability of
appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does
not, create any right or benefit, substantive or
procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any
party against the United States, its departments,
agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or
agents, or any other person.

Sec. 5. Publication. The Director of the Office of
Personnel Management is hereby authorized and directed
to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

Washington, June 17, 2009