Understanding Employee Benefits and key developments in the employee benefits field and items of interest to our clients. MORE

The United States Supreme Court recently held in Obergefell v. Hodges http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pdf that all states must recognize and allow marriages between same sex partners. Depending on an employer’s current employee benefits plan, certain provisions may need to be changed in light of this ruling.

For those employers who already provide spousal benefits to same sex

[This article also appears in our Employment and Labor Law/Employee Benefits Executive Briefing: May 2014.]

Employers have been considering the impact on benefit programs, including the qualified retirement plans, of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision recognizing the validity of same sex marriages. In September, 2013, the IRS issued guidance about the prospective impact of the