Almost 200 employees at the university stand to lose state benefits after Gov. Jan Brewer signed a bill into law on Sept. 4 that redefined dependent status for domestic partners.
The bill will prevent same sex domestic partners from claiming state benefits for their partners as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, children of domestic partners and full-time students over the age of 22 who are claimed as dependents and disabled adult dependents.
Liz Sawyer, spokeswoman for OUT-Reach, a staff group that supports domestic-partner benefits at the UA, said of the 170 employees losing state benefits, 40 are same sex domestic partners. The remaining 130 are unmarried heterosexual couples.
The state expects to save $3 million.
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