N.Y. WKC Law § 4

§ 4. Special applicability; domestic partners; surviving domestic\npartners; death benefits; funeral expenses; terrorist attacks of\nSeptember eleventh, two thousand one; construction. 1. Definition.\n"Domestic partner" means a person at least eighteen years of age who:\n (a) is dependent upon the employee for support as shown by either\nunilateral dependence or mutual interdependence, as evidenced by a nexus\nof factors including, but not limited to, common ownership of real or\npersonal property, common householding, children in common, signs of\nintent to marry, shared budgeting, and the length of the personal\nrelationship with the employee or, if the employee is deceased, was so\ndependent upon the employee immediately prior to the employee's death;\nor\n (b) has registered as the domestic partner of the employee with any\nregistry of domestic partnerships maintained by the employer of either\nparty, the state, or any county, city, town, or village, or, if the\nemployee is deceased, did so register prior to the employee's death.\n (c) For the purposes of this section, the definition of domestic\npartner made by this subdivision shall supplement or supersede any\ninconsistent definition of such term by any other general, special, or\nlocal law, ordinance, code, or charter so that no person qualifying as a\ndomestic partner, as defined in this subdivision, whether registered or\nunregistered, shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed not to\nbe a domestic partner.\n (d) For the purposes of this section, the term "domestic partner"\nshall include the term "surviving domestic partner".\n Provided however, "domestic partner" shall not include any person who\nis related by blood to the employee in a manner that would bar marriage\nto the employee in New York state.\n 2. Death benefits. The domestic partner, at the time of the death, of\nany employee shall, if such employee had no spouse at the time of his or\nher death, be deemed to be the surviving spouse of such employee for the\npurposes of any death benefit, including but not limited to funeral\nexpenses, to which a surviving spouse would be entitled upon the death\nof such employee, and any and all such benefits shall be paid to such\ndomestic partner.\n 3. Applicability. The provisions of this section apply only to cases\nin which the employee's death occurred as a result of the terrorist\nattacks that occurred on September eleven, two thousand one.\n 4. Construction. (a) The definition of the term "domestic partner"\nmade by subdivision one of this section shall not be construed to be an\nexclusive definition.\n (b) The enactment of this section shall not be construed to divest any\ncourt of any authority such court may otherwise have to adjudicate a\nperson a domestic partner on the basis of any criteria other than those\nspecified in subdivision one of this section, whether such person has or\nhas not registered as a domestic partner.\n