EEO
FINAL WORD
SCOTUS’ ruling on DOMA affects federal workers
Sonya Trammell-Jones
On Wednesday June 26, 2013 the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, clearing the way for federal employees to share benefits with their samesex spouses. The 1996 law defined marriage as between a man and a woman, affecting more than 1,000 laws in which marital status is a factor. Several of those laws govern federal workforce benefits, such as the Federal Employees Health Benefits Plan, survivor benefits, and pension programs. The Office of Personnel Management -- which administers federal employee benefits--has cited DOMA as the reason it cannot offer benefits to same-sex couples. A statement on the OPM website read: “For those benefits of federal employment that are limited to spouses, DOMA thus prohibits coverage of same-sex domestic partners, even if legally married under state law.” In April, OPM proposed to extend FEHB to domestic partners -- including both opposite- and same-sex couples -- but fell short of including same-sex spouses in its plan. The agency issued a statement on Wednesday asking for “continued patience” of federal employees as they review the Supreme Court’s decision. “In the coming days, OPM will be working closely with the Department of Justice and other agencies to provide additional guidance for federal human resources professionals, benefits officers, and our employees and annuitants,” OPM’s Acting Director Elaine Kaplan said. “While we recognize that our married gay and lesbian employees have already waited too long for this day, we ask for their continued patience as we take the steps necessary to review the Supreme Court’s decision and implement it. As soon as we have updates to share, they will be posted on our website.” Attorney General Eric Holder said the Justice Department will work with other agencies to determine implementation plans, and called the decision “an enormous triumph for equal protection under the law for all Americans.” The Obama administration declined to defend DOMA in United States v. Windsor, the case on which the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday. Republican leaders in the House hired legal representation to defend it, but the court ruled the law unconstitutional by a 5-4 decision. “DOMA’s history of enactment and its own text demonstrate that interference with the equal dignity of same-sex marriages, conferred by the states in the exercise of their sovereign power, was more than an incidental effect of the federal statute,” Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. “It was its essence.” He added DOMA had the effect of “writing inequality into the entire U.S. Code.” When hearing oral arguments in March, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said federal benefits “touch every aspect of life.” “Your partner is sick -- I mean, it’s pervasive. It’s not as though there’s this little federal sphere and it’s only a tax
It’s time to declare your own independence
Daniel J. Calderón
Unless you’re reading this in Australia, it’s the fiery center of summer for you, my literate friends. Hopefully, you’re not stressing about body image (because we have had that discussion before, remember? And, we’ll get into it a little this time, just hang tight) and you’ve all had time to get out and enjoy the sun. It’s time to be independent, both in thought and deed. Remember what was written on that estimable document by those wise men more than 225 years ago: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” How you pursue your happiness is completely up to you. Beware of leaving something that important in the hands of someone else. Be very careful when you allow other people to tell you whether the way you decide to make yourself happy or content is right or wrong. Short disclaimer here – Had to pause this column for a second to make sure I got something straight. There is a difference between what I will be discussing and what is illegal. I am in no way advocating anything that will hurt anyone else or is in any way against the law. 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