Lawyers Advise Wait on Same-Sex Benefit Changes

Tim Scott was quoted in New Orleans City Business on July 2, 2015. The article “Lawyers Advise Wait on Same-Sex Benefit Changes” discussed how the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage is expected to have large implications on the business community, with benefits such as medical and family leave, retirement benefits and tax designations expanded to include same-sex couples.

Tim was quoted on how the Supreme Court’s new ruling will affect employee benefits packages.

In terms of employee benefits, the doors have been open to many same-sex married couples since U.S. vs. Windsor two years ago. The decision struck down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act which had limited the definition of “marriage” and “spouse” to opposite-sex unions and made same-sex spouses eligible for the same privileges regarding federal laws and taxes in states that recognized those unions.

As a result, many employers began offering domestic partner benefits to same-sex couples in states where they were unable to marry, according to Tim.

“We saw a lot of bigger companies got ahead of this issue offering domestic partner benefits. A whole procedure was put in place,” Tim said.

Tim said some companies may likely start pulling back on domestic partnership benefit programs in favor of broader coverage for spouses in light of the Supreme Court ruling.

To read the full article, please visit New Orleans City Business. [subscription required]