On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in United States v. Windsor, the case in which the Second Circuit Court of Appeals declared the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. The issue under consideration is whether Section 3 of DOMA – which defines the term “marriage” for all purposes under federal law, including the provision of federal benefits, as “only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife,” and “spouse” as “a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife” – violates the Fifth Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection of the laws as applied to persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their state. As previously discussed, should the Court ultimately affirm the Second Circuit’s position and nullify DOMA, employers will need to reevaluate their provision of benefits, as married same-sex couples could be entitled to a host of federal benefits and protections that currently exist for heterosexual married couples. Continue reading this entry at Littler's Employee Benefits Counsel.

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