Federal Workers Sue To Break DOMA's Bar on Benefits

March 20, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Gay and lesbian federal employees and their spouses are suing the government for full retirement and health care benefits currently denied them under the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

According to FederalTimes.com, the organization Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders filed the suit challenging section 3 of DOMA earlier this month in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. The "Defense of Marriage Act" or DOMA, was passed by Congress in 1996 and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. It defines marriage as between a man and a woman, and it blocks federal spousal benefits, such as health and pension benefits, from going to same-sex spouses of federal employees and retirees.

GLAD notes that this lawsuit challenges only Section 3 of the law, which excludes legally married same-sex couples from any federal law or program in which marriage is a factor, seeking a ruling that DOMA Section 3 is unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs in Federal Income Tax, Social Security, federal employment benefits, and the issuance of passports.

According to a Q&A posted on their web site , GLAD "seeks a declaration that by passing DOMA Section 3 Congress violated the U.S. Constitution by exceeding its authority in redefining elements of eligibility under the law governing benefits in the particular federal programs, in violation of equal protection guarantees of the 5th Amendment."

The current lawsuit concerns only couples who are legally married and have received marriage licenses, and at present Massachusetts (see Murky Waters ) and Connecticut (see Employers Not Prepared for CT Civil Union Law ) are the only states where marriage is legal for same-sex couples. The lawsuit does not address civil unions or other forms of domestic partnerships some gay and lesbian couples have adopted, according to the FederalTimes report.