The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Same-Sex Marriage Decision on Your Business

As you probably know, the Supreme Court recently decided to legalize same-sex marriages.  What you may not know, however, is how this decision impacts your business.  This client alert will touch upon a few of the changes that employers will need to make in order to comply with the law.

On June 26th, the Supreme Court determined that same-sex marriage is a right protected by the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution.  The Supreme Court’s decision overrules any state laws that had prohibited same-sex marriage.  All of the states, including Pennsylvania, must now issue licenses to those couples that enter into a same-sex marriage and recognize same-sex marriages that have been licensed in other states.

• This decision impacts employers in a number of ways:
  
• FMLA Benefits: You must allow an employee to take FMLA leave to care for a same-sex spouse.
• Employee Handbooks, Policies & Procedures:  Any internal guidelines should be reviewed and updated to extend same-sex spouses the same rights as opposite-sex spouses.
• COBRA: Same-sex spouses are covered by COBRA.
• Health Insurance:  If you offer health insurance for spouses, same-sex spouses must now be included.
• Pensions, Qualified Retirement Accounts, and IRAs: Employees may need to change the beneficiary of any retirement benefits.
• Taxes: Employees may need to update W-4 forms since married same-sex couples can now file jointly.
• Other Benefits: Any employee benefits that extend to spouses, such as bereavement leave or tuition benefits, must be extended to same-sex spouses, as well.
  

If you have questions about the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on your business or how to implement any of the changes mentioned above, please call our office at 814-870-7600 or complete this form on our website.