Employee Benefits Issues in California Following the U.S. Supreme Court's Same-Sex Marriage Decisions
Polsinelli Podcast - Defense of Marriage Act
Supreme Court’s Rulings On Same-Sex Marriage Spark Many Questions On Employee Benefits
Viewer's Guide to Gay Marriage Oral Arguments
The Impact of National Same-Sex Marriage for Employers - Why it matters: How will employers feel the impact of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges? The landmark ruling that the Fourteenth...more
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably are well aware that on June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that same sex couples have a constitutional right to marry and have their marriages recognized across the...more
As has become its custom, the Supreme Court left one of its most high-profile decisions for the end of its term, holding by a 5-4 vote that the Constitution requires states to recognize same-sex marriages. As a result, state...more
As federal and state agencies and courts further examine the implications of the Supreme Court of the United States’ ruling on same-sex marriage in U.S. v. Windsor, the laws and regulations governing employee benefits for...more
Under current law, an eligible employee may take leave under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to care for a same-sex spouse only if they reside in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage. If the employee lives in a state...more
Here is a brief update to our September 24, 2013 alert, which addressed the administration of employee benefits as well as federal income taxes and FMLA leave following this summer’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in United...more
Following a highly-publicized U.S. Supreme Court decision and subsequent guidance from both the Labor Department (DOL) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), employers need to rethink how they treat same-sex spouses under...more
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court held that Section 3 the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevented the federal government from recognizing state-granted same-sex marriages, was unconstitutional because...more
On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in U.S. v. Windsor that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”), which defined “marriage” as strictly between opposite-sex couples and “spouse” as referring only to a...more
Recent guidance issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides some initial...more
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), the Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) and the Department of Labor (“DOL”) have recently provided new guidance with respect to how lawfully married same-sex spouses will...more
Here's something that should be at the top of your to do list on this Monday morning: make sure your benefits and other employee policies are in compliance with new guidance from the IRS that becomes effective today relating...more
After the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision regarding same-sex marriages in United States v. Windsor this summer, a number of governmental agencies charged with administering employment laws have issued explanations...more
On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court, in United States v. Windsor, held that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is...more
Earlier this month, we blogged that it was “Time for Employers to Review Their Family Medical Leave Act Policies Following the Supreme Court’s Decision to Strike Down DOMA.”....more
As almost everyone knows, the U.S. Supreme Court issued two blockbuster decisions on gay marriage, U.S. v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act's ("DOMA") definition of marriage for the purposes of federal...more
The U.S. Department of Labor ("DOL") announced that, as of August 9, 2013, it had updated guidance documents to remove references to the Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") in order to affirm the availability of spousal leave...more
On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down the Defense of Marriage Act’s (DOMA) provision defining marriage as between one man and one woman....more
On August 9, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued regulatory guidance confirming that same-sex married couples are entitled to the same benefits of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) as heterosexual married couples...more
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Windsor, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has just issued updated guidance for employers concerning the rights of same-sex spouses under the Family and...more
Same-sex married couples now are eligible for the spousal leave provisions of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), according to Labor Secretary Thomas E. Perez. This pronouncement comes in light of the Supreme Court’s...more
As reported in the Wall Street Journal (“U.S. Extends Family Leave to Same-Sex Couples,” August 9, 2013, by Melanie Trottman and Kris Maher) and Employment Law 360 (“Labor Dept. Extends FMLA Coverage To Same-Sex Spouses,”...more
When the Supreme Court issued its opinion in U.S. v. Windsor on June 26, it invalidated the federal definitions of “spouse” and “marriage,” and, in so doing, altered employer obligations with respect to same-sex marriages....more
In U.S. v. Windsor, the court struck down a portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) as unconstitutional. DOMA, for purposes of federal tax and benefits laws, defined marriage as only between “one man and one...more
In Windsor v. United States, No. 12-307 (June 26, 2013), the Supreme Court ruled that the section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that required federal laws to ignore same-sex marriages that are legally entered into...more