WHEREAS:	The City of Cambridge considers employees who are married to same-sex partners as fully equal to any other employee, and supports their right to the health benefits as required by Massachusetts State Law; and
WHEREAS:	Under existing federal tax code, the City of Cambridge-provided health benefits for same-sex married employees are counted as taxable income, a differentiation based on sexual orientation considered discriminatory in the State of Massachusetts and in the City of Cambridge; and
WHEREAS:	Many private sector leaders such as Google, Cisco, the Gates Foundation, and Kimpton Hotels are assuring all their employees are treated equally by paying the cost of the unjust taxation of their same-sex married employees, and where as some 70 top business leaders are supporting Human Rights Campaign (HRC) efforts to change this discriminatory federal tax code (http://www.hrc.org/issues/workplace/benefits/business_coalition_ benefits_tax_equity.htm) that harshly impacts our workforce; and
WHEREAS:	The Cambridge City Council considers it unacceptable that an unfair financial burden has been placed on same-sex married employees of Cambridge since May, 2005, and seeks to stop this discrimination in our city; now therefore be it
ORDERED:	That the City Manager be and hereby is requested to report back to the City Council by 1/31/11:  1) a total number of same-sex married city employees currently receiving health benefits, 2) a total estimated valuation of the federal tax placed on those health benefits of employees currently impacted by this discrimination, and 3) a proposed plan for how the city will take a stand as a national leader who values all city employees as equal and how the City will carry the burden of this discriminatory taxation on behalf of the impacted employees beginning with 2011 tax filing.