518-373-4111
The Supreme Court has ruled that all states must allow and recognize same-sex marriages. In an opinion issued Friday, the majority of the Court found that marriage is a fundamental right and that it would be a violation of equal protection if the right to marry was not extended to same-sex couples.
For employers, there may be effects of same-sex marriage on employee benefits. You will need to ensure that benefits offered to or mentioning “spouses” are applied to the spouses of all legally married employees, including those in same-sex marriages. Most employer benefit policies already use the word “spouse,” so most of the changes will be procedural. Three of the most likely benefit changes are:
- If you offer health insurance benefits to spouses, extend the benefits to same-sex spouses.
- For family leave policies, include same-sex spouses in the defined category of “family member.”
- Cover same-sex partners in your pension and retirement plans in the same manner as opposite-sex spouses.
Employers should review their benefit plan documents, forms, policies, and handbook language to make sure that the language used within them would cover same-sex as well as opposite-sex spouses. Additionally, some employers have chosen to offer additional domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples in recognition of the inability up until now (in some states) to cover them as married. Those employers will need to decide whether to retain this benefit and, if so, whether to extend it to opposite-sex unmarried couples. Finally, employers should be careful to follow the same administrative procedures for all married employees. For example, if an employer does not require a marriage certificate to verify spousal status for opposite-sex couples, the employer should not require it from same-sex couples.
For more information on staying compliant with this and all HR issues, contact GTM at (518) 373-4111.
