Florida Agenda

WEST PALM BEACH, FL – The Palm Beach County Commission has agreed to offer same sex-couples the same medical leave to care for their domestic partners that the federal government gives married workers. The unmarried domestic partners may take up to 12 weeks a year of unpaid leave to care for their partner with a guarantee that they will be able to return to their jobs. Married county employees already enjoy these rights.

Since 2007, Palm Beach County’s Human Rights Council has pushed to make this addition to county laws. Broward County already allows medical leave for domestic partners, as does the City of West Palm Beach.

Palm Beach County has 53 employees who have registered as domestic partners.

EUREKA, Mo. – On Christmas Day 2009, Missouri State Trooper Cpl. Dennis Engelhard stopped to help a disabled vehicle on Interstate 44 in Eureka. Right after he got out of his patrol car, Engelhard was struck by a passing SUV and killed instantly. Now one year later, his partner of 15 years, Kelly Glossip, has sued the state to try and receive benefits that any spouse of an officer killed in the line of duty would receive. The State of Missouri has continually denied his request because the two were never married or civil unionized because Missouri does not recognize same-sex unions.

In an interesting development, however, almost one year to the date of the accident, Missouri will dedicate a stretch of Interstate 44 in Englehard’s honor. This will not help Glossip pay the bills or care for Englehard’s 17-year-old son.

“He was my true love and he always referred to me as his one and only true love and the man of his dreams,” Glossip said about his deceased partner.

Glossip said he will attend the dedication ceremony, but he hopes Missouri will reconsider his case.