What is the difference between domestic partnership and common law marriage?

I asked my employer if we recognized domestic partnership and here is the responce I recieved. Any suggestions or can someone clarify??

"As for Domestic Partnership, we recognize common law marriage with the proper documentation to go with it."

None of the above answer YOUR question. This means that your employer recognizes common law marriage. If your state does, you will need to get some kind of official paperwork stating that you are common-law married. If you meant a gay partnership, you're out of luck.

a domestic partnership, usually refers to a partnership of the same sex.

a common law marriage is when 2 people have been together unmarried, for more than 7 years. and this is 2 people,such as man and woman. i found this out by signing a form, as we had a domestic partnership, and the people explained to me what that meant, as i am a woman and my partner is a man. hope this helped.

domestic partnerships is a commonly used term for same sex / gay relationships.

common law marriage is only recognized in 9 states to date and is binding by an agreement between the 2 people living together and know as husband and wife for a set time by the particular state.

Because if your not "legally" tied to your partner then you're not entitled to anything if your partner dies or not able to care for themselfs and both aren't recognized in my state

here in jamaica common law marriage is living with the each other for more than 5 years, and domestic partnership is less.