Compliance Department
The Equal Benefits Program ensures compliance with the Equal Benefits Ordinance (EBO) by assisting contractors in understanding obligations, monitoring contracts, maintaining records, conducting reviews, investigating complaints, and providing reports as needed.
The EBO, San Diego Municipal Code Division 43, applies on all City contracts unless specifically listed as an exception. The Ordinance requires the City to contract only with entities that provide equal benefits. Contractors must offer the same benefits to employees with spouses and employees with domestic partners. If a contractor does not offer any of these benefits to an employee with a spouse, those same benefits are not required to be extended to an employee with a domestic partner. The EBO does not apply to subcontractors. Complaints of violations may be made through submittal of an
EBO Employee Complaint Form.
Purpose: The EBO is intended to bring the City’s contracting practices in line with its non-discrimination policy and to promote a policy of “equal pay for equal work” for City contracts.
Effective Date: The EBO applies on all City contracts entered into, awarded, amended, renewed, or extended on or after Jan. 1, 2011; some exceptions apply.
When the EBO applies, a contractor shall:
“During the performance of a contract with the City of San Diego, the contractor will provide equal benefits to its employees with spouses and its employees with domestic partners.”
When the EBO applies, contractors must offer equal benefits to:
Benefits means all remuneration other than wages, salary, bonuses, commissions and stock options offered to an employee as part of total compensation package, including:
If a contractor does not offer any of these benefits to an employee with a spouse, then that same benefit is not required to be extended to an employee with a domestic partner.
The City may allow a contractor to pay a cash equivalent in lieu of providing benefits to an employee's domestic partner if the contractor has made a reasonable, yet unsuccessful, effort to provide equal benefits. The contractor must send a letter of request to the City's Equal Benefits Program with supporting documentation. Additionally, the contractor must amend policies to extend benefits for which a cash equivalent for domestic partners is not available (such as bereavement leave) and must notify employees of the availability of a cash equivalent in lieu of equal benefits. City approval is required.
The EBO does not apply to:
For additional information, please contact:
Equal Benefits Program
City of San Diego Compliance Department
1200 Third Ave., Suite 200, MS-56P
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-533-3948
Fax: 619-533-3220