If you thought there was a lot of misunderstanding regarding the SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, it pales in comparison to the landmark ruling on the Defense of Marriage Act. In short, except with regards to the ruling and its impact on Federal benefits, it leaves much of muddle that will not be litigated to certainty for years.
The buzz in the workplace approached cicada level last week as HR departments across the U.S. were hit with questions asked by people who largely thought they had the answers. I have not processed the decision in its entirety yet, but of these two things I am sure:
1) The ruling affects only MARRIAGES not domestic partnerships. Up to this decision same sex marriage couples were forced to pay taxes on benefits received that heterosexual married couples did not. Domestic partnerships were not part of the ruling, so they will remain taxed. According to the most recent census there are 646,000 same sex households in the U.S., and only a tiny fraction of these involve legal marriages affected by the ruling. Four states recognize same sex civil unions, but not marriage: Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, and New Jersey.
2) Section 2 of DOMA remains in force. This section holds that states do not have to recognize same sex marriages performed in other states. Here’s how the states line up: Thirty-six have either legislation or constitutional provisions banning same sex marriages. Indiana is likely to decide in 2014. The other side of the ledger has fourteen (now counting California) that recognize same sex marriage: District of Columbia: Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island (in August), Vermont, and Washington.
Now is probably a good time to check your state laws before communicating with employees and err on the side of caution. My sense right now is that expectations are running way of ahead of reality (kinda like the ACA, now that I think about it). Stay tuned for more updates as I study the ruling further.