[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 118 (Monday, June 22, 2009)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 29393-29394]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-14737]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 118 / Monday, June 22, 2009 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 29393]]

                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

[[Page 29394]]

  (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.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

                THE WHITE HOUSE,

                    Washington, June 17, 2009

[FR Doc. E9-14737
Filed 6-19-09; 8:45 am]
Billing code 6325-01-P