The U.S. Department of Labor recently made it official that in the wake of the Supreme Court ruling that nullified the Defense Against Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) will now apply to same-sex marriage partners in states that allow same sex marriage. Before this, federal FMLA job protection benefits were not provided to same-sex married couples if, for example, one spouse wanted to take an unpaid leave to care for his or her ill spouse. Daniel Schwartz writes about this at the Connecticut Employment Law Blog.
In Connecticut, which has its own FMLA, same sex couples have been recognized in law since a Connecticut Supreme Court ruling in 2008, followed by legislation in 2009, and therefore have been eligible for benefits under the state law. Before the new federal ruling, the state and federal laws conflicted regarding same-sex couples. The ruling and the new guidance provided by the federal Labor Department should help clear up any confusion employers may have over which laws apply.
