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Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Law - "Conflicting Gay Marriage Laws Cause Headaches for Companies"
Some quotes from an article by Sherry Karabin in Corporate Counsel:
California wasn't the first state to legalize same-sex marriage; Massachusetts did so four years ago. (Six countries, including Canada, also allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.) But ever since Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, only opposite-sex marriages are recognized under U.S. federal law.As a result, companies have to follow two sets of rules, says Maureen O'Neill, an employment law partner at Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. "For example, a same-sex spouse may be entitled to health insurance coverage under the company's insurance plan if the policy is governed by California law, but the provision of such benefits will be taxable for purposes of federal income tax," says O'Neill.
Same-sex spouses also can't file a joint federal income tax return, aren't eligible to receive each other's Social Security death benefits, and can't roll over a 401(k) plan to the other spouse without income tax consequences. As PG&E's Campos notes, "Employers have no choice but to treat same-sex couples differently in terms of taxation."
Posted by Marcia Oddi on July 30, 2008 12:41 PM
Posted to General Law Related