No Same-Sex Benefits for Public Employees: Michigan Court Says: Public
employers cannot provide health care benefits to the partners of gay and lesbian
employees, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled last month.
The 5-2 ruling found that a 2004 amendment to the Michigan Constitution which
defined marriage as the union of a man and a woman also applied to employees
benefits.
According to the ruling, the language in the amendment banning the
recognition of other unions “for any purpose” effectively prohibits same-sex
partner benefits.
The ruling won’t have immediate impact, experts say. That’s because many of
Michigan’s public employers that offered same sex-partner benefits had already
changed their policies so that they could ensure their employees’ partners would
remain covered in anticipation of the court ruling.
Experts say that nationally the ruling shouldn’t have wide implications
because it was based on specific language in Michigan’s amendment.
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