DOMA’s defeat in the United States v. Windsor continues to have a ripple effect when it comes to other federal regulations. On June 20, 2014, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a proposed rule that would extend the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) to all eligible employees in legally-recognized same-sex marriages, regardless of where the employees live. The proposal is in light of the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, which struck down the Defense of Marriage Act’s provision that limited “marriage” to opposite-sex unions and “spouse” to individuals of the opposite-sex who are married for purposes of federal law. DOL’s proposed change would expand the FMLA’s definition of “spouse” so that it applies to an employee legally married in any state (the so-called “state of celebration” rule), as opposed to the state in which the employee resides (“state of residence” rule).
Continue Reading DOL Proposes Rule Aimed At Expanding FMLA Coverage for Same-Sex Couples
IRS Issues Additional Guidance Related to Refunds of Employer-Paid Taxes Paid On Imputed Income for Same-Sex Spouse Benefits
On September 23, 2013, the IRS released Notice 2013-61 which provides special rules for employers making claims for refunds or adjustments of Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) and federal employment taxes resulting from the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Windsor. In Windsor, the Court found that Section 3 of the Defense of…
Federal Government Issues FMLA and EBSA Guidance Related to Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages
A number of federal agencies recently issued guidance in response to the United States Supreme Court’s ruling in Windsor, which held that Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional. On September 18, 2013, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) Employee Benefits Security Administration (“EBSA”) issued Technical Release 2013-04, and adopted the same rule previously outlined…
IRS Takes First Big Step Toward Federal Recognition of Same-Sex Marriages, and In Doing So, Opens the Door for Employers to Recoup Overpayment of Taxes
While uncertainty still lingers in some areas of federal law regarding how the recent overturning of DOMA will affect same-sex couples’ abilities to obtain federal benefits, on August 29, 2013, the IRS clarified this ambiguity with regard to federal tax law. The IRS published Revenue Ruling 2013-17 and a news release, IR-2013-72, announcing that it…
The Demise of DOMA and Changes to Employee Benefits
This post was originally published on April 12, 2013. In light of the recent Supreme Court Decision on DOMA, McLane wanted to share this post again.
For at least the next few months, DOMA is the law of the land, and the United States government will continue to define “marriage” as a “legal union between…