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ARTICLE · 10 JULY 2013

Supreme Court Rules DOMA Unconstitutional – Employee Benefit Plan Implications

Pepper Hamilton LLP
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The U.S. Supreme Court, in "U.S. v. Windsor", recently ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amendment’s equal protection guaranty for persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their state of residence.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Michael Kadlec
Michael Kadlec
Andrew Rudolph
Andrew Rudolph
Jonathan Clark
Jonathan Clark

Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court, in U.S. v. Windsor, ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional because it violates the Fifth Amendment's equal protection guaranty for persons of the same sex who are legally married under the laws of their state of residence.

Prior to the Windsor ruling, Section 3 of DOMA provided that only persons of the opposite sex are recognized as "spouses" or "married" for purposes of federal law. Section 3 of DOMA applied to over 1,000 federal laws, rules and regulations, including the Internal Revenue Code and ERISA. As a result of the Windsor ruling, same-sex couples who are legally married in the state of their residence1 are required to be recognized as "spouses" or "married" for purposes of federal law. The Windsor ruling has immediate implications for employers maintaining retirement plans, health and welfare plans, and other fringe benefit programs. In addition, the ruling may also

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