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 short answer: No plan amendments are required, but certain plan amendments and operational changes are permitted, and certain operational changes may be required....more
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently issued Notice 2015-86, which provides some additional clarification, in the form of questions and answers, on the treatment of same-sex spouses under tax-qualified retirement plans...more
Editor's Overview - Happy New Year! Because 401(k) plans play an increasingly prominent role as an employee's principal retirement investment vehicle, fiduciaries overseeing those plans face increased pressure to see...more
Following the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v. Windsor (in which the Court held that Section 3 of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) was unconstitutional), one of the questions facing sponsors of...more
In IRS Notice 2015-86, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provided guidance to sponsors and administrators of employee benefit plans regarding the application of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges to...more
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark marriage-equality decision this summer (Obergefell v. Hodges), we now have full equality between same-sex and opposite-sex spouses under federal and state law. That decision affects...more
On October 21, 2015, the IRS issued proposed regulations to clarify the treatment of same-sex spouses for federal tax purposes. By way of background, in 2013, the United States Supreme Court held in United States v. Windsor...more
Following up on the Supreme Court’s decisions in both Windsor v. United States and Obergefell v. Hodges, discussed in our earlier Alerts (here and here), on October 21, 2015 the IRS issue proposed regulations clarifying that...more
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S.Ct. 1039 (June 26, 2015),answered definitively the lingering questions following the Court’s decision last year in Windsor about whether states could...more
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
In Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution requires all 50 states to license marriages between same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages performed out-of-state....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
In a 5-4 decision announced last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Obergefell v. Hodges that all states are required to recognize same-sex marriages. This ruling follows the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in U.S. v....more
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the landmark case of Obergefell v. Hodges. The Court held that the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires all states to license a...more
In a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a fundamental right for same-sex couples to marry throughout the country. In a 5-4 opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Court held that the Due Process...more
On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, holding that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses require states to allow same-sex marriage and to...more
The SEC has provided guidance on the definition of “spouse” and “marriage” in the wake of United States v Windsor. That case held Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional. As a result the SEC will...more
The Department of Labor’s same-sex spouse rule under the Family and Medical Leave Act was supposed to go into effect on March 27. At the 11th hour, however, a federal judge in Texas stepped in and preliminarily enjoined...more
On Friday, March 27, 2015, the Department of Labor (“DOL”)’s new regulation revising the definition of “spouse” to include those in same-sex marriages went into effect expanding the definition of spouse under the Family and...more
Effective March 27, 2015, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is revised to define a "spouse" to include married, same-sex partners regardless of the state in which they reside. This change gives same-sex couples the...more
On Thursday, March 26, a federal district court in the Northern District of Texas granted an injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) from enacting a new rule under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) that...more
The new rule defining “spouse” for purposes of leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act was set to take effect today. But a federal judge in Texas yesterday temporarily blocked the rule from going into effect after...more
Effective March 27, 2015, the U.S. Department of Labor’s regulations interpreting the Family and Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) expands coverage to legally married same-sex spouses, even if the employee lives in a state that does...more
The Department of Labor recently published its final rule amending the definition of “spouse” in the Family Medical Leave Act ("FMLA") regulations to include eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages. Beginning on March...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has revised the definition of “spouse” under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to include marriages legally entered into by same-sex couples. This revision expands the FMLA’s reach...more