Same-Sex Marriage Is Legal in All 50 States: So What Now?
Now that same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states, most benefits plans will treat same-sex spouses the same as opposite-sex spouses. But several tricky issues remain. For example, what if an employer with religious beliefs wants to continue to exclude same-sex spouses from receiving benefits under its retirement plans? Or its medical and dental plans? Are employers that deny coverage vulnerable to sexual orientation and/or sex discrimination lawsuits under state and local law or to federal Title VII lawsuits? What has the EEOC said about this issue? In addition, should employers consider dropping benefits for unmarried partners? Is the answer different if the employer’s plans cover both same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex partners? This session will cover the legal, practical and employee relations considerations for employers. In this session, you will:
- Learn the various types of legal recognition of same-sex relationships and the states in which such relationships receive recognition.
- Learn the impact and scope of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in all 50 states.
- Learn best practices and market trends for benefits plans with respect to coverage of same-sex partners, and gain an understanding of the tax and payroll consequences of any such coverage.
- Learn about upcoming changes to the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index, which ranks the LGBTQ diversity policies of employers.
- Learn about the future of unmarried-partner benefits and whether employers will or should begin dropping such benefits.
Todd A. Solomon
Todd Solomon is a partner in and Chicago local practice group leader of the employee benefits practice group of McDermott Will & Emery LLP in its Chicago office. Todd focuses his practice primarily on designing, amending, and administering pension plans, 401(k) plans, employee stock ownership plans, 403(b) plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also counsels corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary and plan investment issues under ERISA, employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation and Code Section 409A compliance and correction matters, and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners.
