In a case that has obvious implications for employee benefit plans, the Veterans’ Administration (“VA”) has just provided survivor benefits to the partner of a service member, even though the partners were not married before the service member’s death.
Tag Archives: Obergefell
Domestic Partnership Converted Retroactively to Marriage After Death Provides Basis for Spousal Benefits
Employee benefits effects of Supreme Court same-sex marriage decision
(Posted on July 14, 2015 by Carol V. Calhoun)
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage in Obergefell v. Hodges. For employers, this decision raises the issue of what changes must be made in employee benefits to reflect the decision.
For this purpose, we will look at three categories of employers: those that have already been offering benefits to same-sex spouses, those that have not previously offered benefits to same-sex spouses, and those that have been offering benefits to domestic partners.