Changes in Family Life Require New Laws, Policies, Panel Says

Family life in Los Angeles has changed so much that many laws and policies should be changed to acknowledge the new order, a task force of citizens recommended Thursday to Mayor Tom Bradley and the City Council.

For instance, with so many people in Los Angeles not married, the City Council and other arms of government should give some legal “domestic partner” status to unmarried couples and forbid consumer discounts that aim only at married people, the Task Force on Family Diversity report said.

The advisory-only group, which was formed by City Councilman Mike Woo, includes representatives from the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, Pacific Bell and GTE California, and the MECLA Foundation, a gay-oriented organization. The report issued Wednesday included more than 100 recommendations.

Woo embraced the concept of unmarried couples, including gay couples, being given limited domestic partner status and announced Wednesday that he would seek a change in the personnel practices that govern Los Angeles city employees.

He said employees who are not married but who have established a household with someone should be given the same family sick and bereavement leave as married couples. Woo said he planned to introduce the measure in the City Council today.

Non-Traditional Living Arrangements

The report seeks to make the point that most people in Los Angeles have a living arrangement that is other than the traditional married couple with children. About 22% of households are married couples with no children, 11% of households include a single parent, 21% include an elderly person and more than 31% of households consist of a single person living alone, the report said.

A great need exists for child care, the report said, and city officials can help by helping city workers with child care and giving preference on contracts to firms that provide child care for their own employees. Developers should also be allowed to build bigger buildings as an enticement to provide child-care facilities, the report said.

In a city with a population estimated at 3.5 million, the report said, about 500,000 have some disability and another 200,000 are gay men or lesbians. Both the disabled and gay communities are subject to discriminatory laws and practices that should be changed, the report said.

The city should require developers to provide better handicapped access in their buildings, and rules should be changed to ensure that gay and other unmarried couples are allowed to visit in hospitals.