Domestic Partner Benefits

New York Employers Must Provide Funeral and Bereavement Leave to Employees in Same-Sex Relationships (PDF)
1 page. The law is slated to become effective October 30, 2010. (Nixon Peabody LLP)

2010 New York State Legislative Update Relevant to New York Employers
The New York State Legislature enacted and the Governor signed a number of laws: the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights, Funeral Leave Benefits for Same-Sex Couples, and Health Benefits for Volunteer Firefighters and Ambulance Workers. (Jackson Lewis LLP)

Update on California's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Held Unconstitutional
Excerpt:"Update: An Aug. 16, 2010, stay by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals put same-sex weddings in California on hold while it considers the constitutionality of the state's gay marriage ban."(Society for Human Resource Management)

California Proposition 8 Barring Same-Sex Marriage Ruled Unconstitutional: What the Ruling Means for Employers
Excerpt:"The court's ruling is likely to have limited effect on employers so long as federal law does not recognize same-sex marriage. California law already extends the same rights and obligations to registered domestic partners as to spouses, including, for example, the right to take family leave due to the serious illness of a domestic partner."(Littler Mendelson P.C.)

What Effect Will DOMA Cases Have on Benefit Plans?
Excerpt:"Although numerous federal laws are affected by the definition of a spouse, of particular note are those statutes affecting surviving spousal benefits, spousal consent requirements, qualified domestic relations orders, COBRA, flexible spending accounts, and taxation of medical benefits."(BNA Federal Tax Blogs)

Federal Appeals Court Puts California Gay Marriages on Hold
Excerpt:"California's ban on same-sex marriages will remain in place until at least December, an appeals court ruled Monday . . . ."(Washington Post; free registration required)

California's Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Found Unconstitutional
Excerpt:"An appeal to the Ninth Circuit has already been filed, but as we said in our article on the Massachusetts case, it is impossible to predict how the issues will fare in the court of appeals (or potentially in the U.S. Supreme Court)."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Opinion] What Effect Will Defense of Marriage Act Cases Have on Benefit Plans?
Excerpt:"Although numerous federal laws are affected by the definition of a spouse, of particular note are those statutes affecting surviving spousal benefits, spousal consent requirements, qualified domestic relations orders, COBRA, flexible spending accounts, and taxation of medical benefits. Under Gill, a plan would be required to recognize the rights granted to a spouse under the relevant statutes."(Tax Management Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Arizona Ban on Benefits for State Employees Domestic Partners on Hold
Excerpt:"Domestic partners of Arizona state employees may be receiving benefits next year, now that a federal judge has blocked a state law that would have prohibited the state government from extending benefits to them."(Thompson Publishing Group Inc.)

Appeal Lodged After California Gay Marriage Ban Overturned
Excerpt:"US District Court Judge Vaughn Walker ruled Wednesday in favor of activists who argued that a state referendum which barred gays and lesbians from tying the knot was discriminatory and therefore violated the US Constitution."(Planet Out via Yahoo! News)

[Opinion] Opinion: Marriage Is A Constitutional Right
Excerpt:"The judge easily dismissed the idea that discrimination is permissible if a majority of voters approve it; the [California] referendum's outcome was'irrelevant,'he said, quoting a 1943 case, because'fundamental rights may not be submitted to a vote.'"(New York Times; free registration required)

Ruling Against California Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Could Lead to Federal Precedent on Gay Marriage
Excerpt:"Judge says the same-sex marriage ban was rooted in'moral disapproval'and violates constitutional rights to equal protection and due process. Opponents vow to appeal all the way to the Supreme Court."(Los Angeles Times)

Gay Couples Navigate Steep Retirement Challenges Despite Some Relief
Excerpt:"Since January 2010, employers must let a non-spouse beneficiary, such as a domestic partner, roll inherited retirement savings into an individual retirement account without paying taxes immediately, just as the tax code has allowed spouses to do."(Workforce Management (free registration required))

[Guidance Overview] Court Blocks Arizona Domestic Partner Benefits Limit
Excerpt:"The disputed law modified the state employee health and accident insurance plan to apply only to the workers and their spouses, children under 19 and children under 23 who are full-time students."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Feds Could Lose Talent Without Same-Sex Leave, Benefits, Report Says
Excerpt:"Almost two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies and 83 percent of Fortune 100 companies offer leave and other benefits to such employees, while the federal government is hamstrung by the Defense of Marriage Act, prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriage and proscribing benefits to such couples, according to CRS."(Thompson Publishing Group Inc.)

[Guidance Overview] Defense of Marriage Act Found Unconstitutional by Federal Trial Court in Massachusetts
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: The U.S. government must now decide whether to appeal, and it is impossible to predict how the issues will fare in the court of appeals (or potentially in the Supreme Court). The matter of DOMA's validity is significant in the benefits arena, of course, given the federal tax implications for benefits provided to same-sex spouses and the impact DOMA has on other benefit rules (including, among others, whether same-sex spouses have COBRA and HIPAA special enrollment rights)."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Continues to Rule Favorably on VEBA Domestic Partner Benefits (PDF)
Excerpt:"A VEBA may provide an otherwise permissible'life benefit'(including a monthly survivorship benefit), payable by reason of the death of an employee, to a designated beneficiary who is a domestic partner without further limitation."(Sutherland Asbill&Brennan LLP)

Google Will Underwrite or'Gross Up'Tax Costs of Health-Insurance Benefits for Same-Sex Domestic Partners
Excerpt:"In Google's case, the company will provide employees with a separate amount, instead of including it as a part of their regular pay. Heterosexual partners, who are entitled to domestic-partner benefits, would not receive the'gross ups,'since they have the option of getting married."(Human Resource Executive Online)

Same-Sex Spouses of Legally Wed Federal Employees Are Entitled to Benefits, According to Judge
Excerpt:"A federal judge ruled . . . that denying the same-sex spouses of legally married federal employees access to benefits such as health care is unconstitutional."(GovernmentExecutive.com)

[Guidance Overview] Court Rulings that Federal Ban on Same-Sex Marriage is Unconstitutional Raises Significant Implications for Employee Benefit Plans
Excerpt:"Assuming the [Department of Justice] is successful in obtaining a stay of the decisions, employers will need to closely follow the progress of the appeals of these cases (and separate DOMA litigation in California)."(McDermott Will&Emery)

Federal Judge Finds Law Barring Federal Government from Recognizing Same-Sex Marriage Is Unconstitutional
Excerpt:"If the rulings find their way to the Supreme Court and are upheld there, they will put same-sex marriage within the constitutional realm of protection, just as interracial marriage has been for decades."(The New York Times; free registration required)

Google to Reimburse Tax on Domestic Partner Benefits
Excerpt:"Google Inc. is offering to reimburse its gay and lesbian employees for the additional federal tax they pay on the value of company-paid domestic partner benefits."(Workforce Management)

Google to Add Pay to Cover a Tax for Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt:"On average, employees with domestic partners will pay about $1,069 more a year in taxes than a married employee with the same coverage . . . ."(The-Dispatch.com)

[Guidance Overview] Employees with No Legal or Biological Ties to a Child Still May Qualify for FMLA
Excerpt:"Interpretation No. 2010-3 thus clarifies the definition of ???son or daughter??? under FMLA Sec. 101(12) as it applies to an employee standing ???in loco parentis??? to a child."(Wolters Kluwer)

More Benefits Are Available to Domestic Partners of Federal Employees
Excerpt:"In June 2009, the President asked the heads of executive departments and agencies to review the benefits they offered to determine whether any could be extended to same-sex domestic partners. After reviewing the submitted reports, the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) recommended that all the identified benefits be extended. On June 2, 2010, the President issued a Memorandum directing immediate action to extend the benefits and ordered the OPM to issue guidance."(Deloitte via BenefitsLink.com)

[Guidance Overview] DOL's New Interpretation of FMLA
Excerpt:"The new interpretation will have widespread implications for blended families and same-sex couples, and will direct employers to be more discerning in determining ???quasi parental??? status for those that may qualify for FMLA."(Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] DOL'Interpretation'of FMLA Rules Expands Protections for Non-Traditional Families
Excerpt:"The U.S. Department of Labor has issued an Administrator's Interpretation of the FMLA Regulation that includes'in loco parentis'relationships as part of the FMLA's definition of'son'or'daughter'. [The document provides links within the text to source documents.]"(Jackson Lewis LLP)

[Guidance Overview] DOL Interprets the FMLA Broadly and Expands Leave Protections for Those Who Stand In Loco Parentis to a Child (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt:"The Interpretation departs from a literal reading of the regulation's conjunctive rule. Instead, it states that either day-to-day care or financial support may establish an in loco parentis relationship."(Paul, Hastings, Janofsky&Walker LLP)

[Guidance Overview] DOL Clarifies the FMLA's Definition of'Son or Daughter'
Excerpt:"The Administrator's Interpretation states that'where an employer has questions about whether an employee's relationship to a child is covered under FMLA, the employer may require the employee to provide reasonable documentation or [a] statement of the family relationship."(Gray Plant Mooty)

Labor Depart. to Expand Family Leave Benefits to Gay Workers
Excerpt:"Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is expected to announce on Wednesday a reinterpretation of the 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act that will allow gay employees working for large employers -- including the federal government -- to take leave to care for their partner's children."(GovernmentExecutive.com)

Gay Workers Will Get Leave to Care for Partner's Sick Child
Excerpt:"The ruling, in a formal opinion letter, tackles a question not explicitly addressed in the 1993 law. It is one of many actions taken by the Obama administration to respond to the concerns of gay men and lesbians within the constraints of the Defense of Marriage Act . . . ."(The New York Times; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] OPM Final Regulations Extend Leave Benefits for Domestic Partners of Federal Employees
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: Interestingly, OPM confirms in the preamble that'it has always been appropriate to consider same-sex domestic partners as a family relationship'for the purposes covered under these regulations, but that agencies have not been consistent in their interpretation."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Rulings Clarify Tax Treatment of Registered Domestic Partners
Excerpt:"On May 28, 2010, the Internal Revenue Service released Private Letter Ruling 201021048 . . . addressing several issues related to the federal income and gift taxation of registered domestic partners in California. Under the Ruling, income of registered domestic partners is treated consistently with California state law, and thus is treated as community property for federal income tax purposes."(Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)

California Gay-Marriage Trial Could Have National Implications
Excerpt:"After a months-long break, a landmark federal trial challenging California's ban on same-sex marriage ends Wednesday with closing arguments. The outcome could have wide-ranging implications. . . . If [the judge] strikes down California's ban on gay marriage, he could do it in a way that sweeps away anti-gay-marriage laws throughout the nation."(Morning Edition via National Public Radio)

Presidential Memorandum and OPM Final Rule Extend Certain Benefits to Same-Sex Domestic Partners of Federal Employees
Excerpt:"EBIA Comment: As noted by OPM, a number of important federal benefits cannot be extended to domestic partners without legislative changes. (OPM has not yet finalized proposed regulations that would extend certain absence and leave benefits to include domestic partners (among other individuals).)"(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

Some Benefits Extended to Same-Sex Partners of Federal Employees
Excerpt:"Gay and lesbian federal employees'same-sex domestic partners and their children are now eligible for child care, employee assistance, credit union membership and other benefits heterosexual employees'families now receive. And beginning July 1, federal employees and retirees will be able to add their same-sex partners to their long-term care insurance policies."(Army Times Publishing Co.)

Obama Orders Benefits Extended to Same-Gender Partners
Excerpt:"President Obama signed a memo June 2 extending child care, employee assistance, credit union membership and other benefits to gay and lesbian federal employees'same-sex domestic partners and their children."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Federal Personnel Agency Opens Long-Term Care to Same-Sex Partners
Excerpt:"The Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday took another step toward expanding benefits for the partners of gay and lesbian federal employees by finalizing a regulation that makes them eligible for long-term care insurance."(GovernmentExecutive.com)

Memphis-Based FedEx to Offer Insurance to Same-Sex Domestic Partners in 2012
Excerpt:"In a move hailed by advocates of diversity and gay rights, FedEx will offer health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners starting Jan. 1, 2012. The shipping giant, which already offers the benefits in California and to FedEx Office employees, said the change comes at the request of employees."(The Commercial Appeal)

Federal Domestic Partner Benefits Could Cost $300M+
Excerpt:"That was the bottom line of a new Congressional Budget Office (CBO) study of the issue, according to govexec.com. In addition to $310 million in direct costs between 2010 and 2020, CBO calculates the 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (SB 1102) would increase benefits-related discretionary spending by $394 million over the same period."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Brief Overview of What New Hampshire Employers Should Know About Same-Sex Marriage
Excerpt:"Given the conflict with federal law, employers should understand that not all benefits available to married heterosexual employees will be available to married homosexual employees."(SeacoastOnline.com)

[Guidance Overview] Same-Sex Couples Sue CalPERS and IRS over Partner LTC Benefits
Excerpt:"The case challenges a 1996 federal law that permits states to establish long-term care plans for their employees. The law denies coverage to a state worker's same-sex partner. In 2005, California granted spousal benefits to same-sex domestic partners but exempted long-term care plans authorized by the 1996 federal law."(California HealthCare Foundation)

Obama Administration Won't Say How it Will Pay for Federal Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt:"The Obama administration is not ready to tell Congress what cost-cutting measures it will take to pay for extending federal employee benefits to same-sex couples. The legislation that provides health care, long-term care, family and medical leave and federal retirement benefit passed the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and is awaiting approval on the Senate floor."(CNSNews.com)

Same-Sex Couples Often Pay More for Health Insurance Coverage
Excerpt:"Here's why: While the value of health benefits that employers pay on behalf of workers'spouses are excluded from employees'gross income by federal law, same-sex couples aren't extended the same tax break. That is, the value of a domestic partner's health-insurance benefit is counted as income paid to the worker. . . . A provision in the health-care reform bill originally passed by the House of Representatives last November would have extended tax-free status to all domestic partners and other non-spouse beneficiaries of employer health plans. But it wasn't included in the landmark legislation that President Obama signed into law in March.'"(Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation)

Same-Sex Marriages to Begin in District of Columbia
Wednesday, March 3, is the first day on which a same-sex couple can apply for a marriage license in Washington, D.C., pursuant to legislation that passed in December. Marriages can begin on March 9. (AP via Yahoo! News)

D.c. Archbishop Defends Catholic Charities'Stand; Spousal Healthcare Benefits to Be Eliminated
Excerpt:"Wednesday is the first day that same-sex couples can apply for marriage licenses. . . . On Monday, [Catholic Charities] told its 800 employees that it would not make spousal health benefits available to any new employee, straight or gay, to any current employee who marries in the future or to spouses of current employees who are not covered by the plan."(Washington Post; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Value of Nondependent Domestic Partner's Retiree Coverage Is Taxable to Employee
Excerpt:"This private letter ruling addresses the tax treatment of contributions required to pre-fund retiree health coverage under a union-negotiated health plan. . . . [T]he trust treated contributions made on behalf of domestic partners as taxable so that the value of coverage for a domestic partner would be included in an employee's gross income in a taxable year if the employee expected to have a domestic partner upon becoming eligible for benefits under the plan."(Employee Benefits Institute of America)

[Guidance Overview] Extension of Health Benefits to Children and Domestic Partners Who Are Not Tax Dependents
3 pages. Excerpt:"An employer could avoid the issues noted [in this article] by requiring employees to pay the entire cost of coverage of Non-tax Dependents from their own pockets with after-tax dollars. For plans not subject to ERISA, state law should be reviewed to determine if the employer could require the employee to pay the entire amount."(von Briesen&Roper, s.c.)

Church of England Grants Full Pension Rights to Gay Clergy Partners
Excerpt:"The Church of England's governing body has passed a motion in favour of giving civil partners of deceased gay clergy the same pension entitlements as heterosexual widows or widowers."(Christian Today)

[Guidance Overview] Washington State's Domestic Partnership Law Complicates Employee Benefits
Excerpt:"For employers, this means that employment-related benefits must be extended to the registered domestic partners of employees on the same basis as spouses -- that is, unless the benefit is governed exclusively by federal law. FMLA is one such law; ERISA is another. This means that employers subject to FMLA and the corresponding state leave laws (the Washington Family Leave Act, state pregnancy disability laws, and state military leave laws) cannot count against an employee's annual FMLA entitlement any leave that is covered by state law but not FMLA."(OregonReport)

Lawyer Sues Federal Office of Personnel Management over Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt:"Karen Golinski filed a lawsuit against the OPM on Wednesday for refusing to provide benefits to her wife, the Associated Press reported. The agency said it won't follow a court order to provide the benefits because it believes the order is in violation of the federal Defense of Marriage Act . . . ."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] Same-sex Partner Health Coverage Requires Sifting Out Taxable Premium Amounts
Excerpt:"For same-sex domestic partner coverage, an employer should charge participants on an after-tax basis and impute income for the employer-provided portion. This can involve a tricky process of separating taxable from tax-free premium payments."(Thompson Publishing Group)

OPM Says It Won't Follow Court Orders on Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt:"The federal Office of Personnel Management says it won't follow a federal court's orders to provide health benefits for same-s.ex spouses of the court's employees."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

Same-Sex Spousal Case a Preview for D.C.
Excerpt:"The federal Defense of Marriage Act means the U.S. government cannot grant spousal benefits to federal workers in same-sex marriages, a government lawyer said in a claim likely to be repeated when gay marriage comes to the District."(The Washington Times)

Washington, D.C. Council Passes Same-Sex Marriage Bill
Excerpt:"The bill, which could be signed by the mayor as early as tonight, must go to Congress for a review period of 30 legislative days before it becomes law."(The Washington Times)

[Guidance Overview] An Update For Employers on Domestic Partnership and Same-Sex Marriage Laws
Excerpt:"Despite a November voter referendum in Maine that overturned the state's same-sex marriage law and a very recent rejection of same-sex marriage by the New York State Senate, the year 2009 saw progress for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships. The following is a summary of recent developments in this fast-evolving area of the law."(Littler)

[Guidance Overview] New York's Highest Court Rules in Favor of Same-Sex Benefits
Excerpt:"In Godfrey v. Spano, Case No. 147 and Lewis v. Department of Civil Service, Case No. 148 (New York Court of Appeals. 11/19/09) (both cases decided together), the plaintiff- taxpayers had challenged two directives by executive and county officials- namely, a Policy Memorandum issued by the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Civil Service and an Executive Order issued by the Westchester County Executive-which recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages for purposes of providing public employee health insurance coverage and other benefits . . . . The Court dismissed these challenges, thereby upholding the provision of Coverage to partners such marriages."(ERISA Lawyer Blog)

House Committee Approves Federal Employee Same-Sex Partner Benefits
Excerpt:"After a heated debate over gay rights and extending benefits in an economic downturn, the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday passed 23 to 12 legislation that would provide health care and other employment benefits to the same-sex domestic partners of federal employees, Govexec.com reports. The 2009 Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act (H.R. 2517) would provide all of the employment benefits made available to the spouses of heterosexual federal employees, including health insurance, retirement, disability, and other benefits . . . . The provisions apply to partners of current employees, former employees, and retirees."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Judge Orders Federal Agency to Add Same-Sex Wife to Family Health Plan
Excerpt:"The chief federal appeals court judge in San Francisco bluntly ordered the Obama administration Thursday to stop resisting his finding that the wife of a lesbian court employee was entitled to government insurance coverage. The federal agency that oversees benefits for government employees'shall cease at once its interference with the jurisdiction of this tribunal,'Judge Alex Kozinski said in response to the Office of Personnel Management's rejection of his earlier ruling in the case."(San Francisco Chronicle)

New York Court OKs Out-of-State Gay Marriage Benefits
Excerpt:"New York state's top court ruled on Thursday that public officials have the authority to recognize out-of-state gay marriages and pushed state lawmakers to decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage. Gay marriage opponents had challenged decisions in 2006 by the New York State Department of Civil Service and Westchester County to give health insurance and other benefits to same-sex couples legally married in other states or countries. The ruling by the New York State Court of Appeals upheld the decision of lower courts, which had dismissed the challenge."(Reuters via Yahoo! News)