City of Coral Gables LGBT employees will now have the same benefits as everyone else. The Coral Gables City Commission unanimously passed a Domestic Partnership Ordinance on second reading Oct. 31.
The push for the ordinance began in April of 2011, when Rene Tastet, Acting Major of the Coral Gables police department, was denied bereavement leave when her partner’s father died. Tastet worked for the department for 22 years. SAVE Dade, the Fraternal Order of Police, the ACLU of Florida and Tastet filed a grievance with the city manager’s office, requesting the bereavement leave rule be amended to include â┚¬Å”same-sex partners.â┚¬Â The city didn’t act on the request for a year, so Tastet went to the Commissioners.
â┚¬Å”Although I knew I would not be fired, my career and position as an Acting Major within the police department is important to me and I feared the unknown that even today many gay people still experience,â┚¬Â she said in a media release. â┚¬Å”I will retire next year and feel good knowing that I made a difference for the next person and proud that the city I work for offers equal rights and benefits to all employees.â┚¬ÂÂ
City commissioner Ralph Cabrera was an early supporter of the measure and said he’s â┚¬Å”delightedâ┚¬Â to see it approved.
â┚¬Å”I’m just sorry it took this long and was so difficult to have the professional administration accept it,â┚¬Â he said. â┚¬Å”However, we have finally done the right thing for our employees.â┚¬ÂÂ
SAVE Dade Executive Director CJ Ortuño released a statement that said he hopes Coral Gables’ action â┚¬Å”will motivate other cities across the state to pass LGBT inclusive policy to protect their employees and the community at large.â┚¬ÂÂ
Coral Gables is now the 8th city in Miami Dade County to approve a law supporting domestic partner benefits.
