Supreme Court Decides DOMA & Proposition 8

As sponsors of employee benefit plans, you may be wondering what the implications of the Supreme Court decisions regarding the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Proposition 8 are for your benefit plans.

U.S. Supreme Court Decides DOMA and Proposition 8
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Download the presentation.

As a brief overview, by a 5-4 decision today, the United States Supreme Court has ruled that a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman for federal purposes, is unconstitutional as a deprivation of the equal liberty of persons that is protected by the Fifth Amendment. The opinion and its holding are confined to lawful marriages.

Additionally, by a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the petitioners in the Proposition 8 case did not have standing to contest the district court's decision overturning California's ban on same-sex marriage. The Court vacated the Ninth Circuit decision and remanded the case with instructions to dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Washington Report

On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down two long-awaited decisions on same-sex marriage that will have long-term implications for employers that sponsor employee benefit plans. Read more here.