Keith McMurdy was featured in the Human Resource Executive article "Post-DOMA Confusion Begins to Clear." While the full text can be found in the September 5, 2013, issue of Human Resource Executive, a synopsis is noted below.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) left HR and benefits professionals in confusion because only 13 states currently recognize same-sex marriages as legal. However, a recent federal district court decision and new U.S. Treasury Department guidelines are helping to reach clarity.
In Philadelphia, the federal district court ruled in favor of a surviving same-sex spouse in deciding who was entitled to the deceased spouse's retirement plan benefits. This decision opens the definition of spouse to include same-sex partners as long as the state in which the couple resides legally recognizes the marriage.
On August 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury stated that in regards to taxes, it will recognize legal same-sex marriages, even if the couple lives in a state that does not recognize them.
McMurdy says a major takeaway from Philadelphia's decision is the existing lack of definition of the word "spouse" in terms of benefits for employers.
"There is no clear-cut direction on the definition of spouse, if your state recognizes same-sex marriage or not," he says. "More than anything else, definition of spouse is critical. And have you, as a plan sponsor, looked at these issues? That is something that should be done right away."
"What this case says is if you haven't thought about it, here are some things you should really think about with your plans," McMurdy added.
Plan sponsors seeking information about same-sex couples can also raise the issues of discrimination and harassment.
"Would a prudent plan administrator go to a gay employee and ask if they have a same-sex spouse?" he says. "It's almost as if in order to comply, plan sponsors have to know more about the employee population than they really want to know."
McMurdy says he has spoken to LGBT groups and tells them that part of what he sees as the issue is they have to be more willing to entertain inquiries about their marital status. He says that employers don't care if an employee wants to keep a same-sex marriage private, but it is a concern when it comes to benefits.
"The plan sponsor has to know these things so if an unexpected death occurs, the same-sex spouse rightly will receive the 401k benefit," McMurdy says. "It's actually a chance for employers and their employees to create a dialogue about the issue."
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