An increasing number of employers are requiring that same-sexpartners be married in order for employees’ partners to qualify forhealth care benefits.

That’s according to a survey from the International Foundationof Employee Benefit Plans, which tracks the change over the lastcouple of years.

In findings from its surveys on employee benefits taken sinceJune 2015, when a U.S. Supreme Court ruling legalized same-sexmarriage throughout the country, IFEBP found that from 2014 to2016, the percentage of employers providing benefits to same-sexpartners in legally recognized civil unions fell from 51 percent to 31percent. The report says that most states that previouslyregistered civil unions stopped doing so after the court's rulingon same-sex marriage, although not all couples with civil unionshave married.

In addition, comparisons of survey results indicate that thepercentage of employers providing benefits to same-sex domestic partners also fell from 59percent to 48 percent. While existence of domestic partnershipscould be established by employees attesting that they share acommon domestic life with their partner, some states and localitiesprovided domestic partnerships registries.

Immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, IFEBP also foundthat 3 in 10 employers reported they were likely to discontinueproviding benefits to same-sex domestic partners.

“Domestic partner benefits can be complex to manage, and byoffering consistent coverage for opposite-sex and same-sex couples,employers are able to ease some of the administrative burden,”Julie Stich, associate vice president of content at IFEBP, says inthe report.

Most companies offer parity in workplace benefits for lesbian,gay, bisexual and transgender employees, according to ToddSolomon, a partner with McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago. Inthe report, Solomon is quoted saying, “Now that same-sex marriageis legal in all 50 states, most companies do not differentiatebetween types of spouses.”

Still, Stich adds, “I wouldn't expect all employers to dropdomestic partner benefits.” She explains, “Competitive employersare always working to provide an inclusive benefits package, andoffering domestic partner benefits can build a culture of inclusionand help the company attract the best talent.”

Larger organizations are most likely to retain domestic partnerbenefits, IFEBP found, with 77 percent of those with 10,000 or moreemployees still offering health care benefits to both same-sex andopposite-sex domestic partners.