Same-Sex Marriages and Domestic Partnerships: Lessons Learned, Unanswered Questions and Best Practices

Date:  Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Time:  1:00 - 3:00 pm EST

Length:  Approximately 2 hours

Cost:  $199.99 for the live webinar and the recorded podcast for future listening. 

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on June 26, 2015, regarding same-sex marriage, many government plans and private employers will seek answers on how to enroll same-sex spouses and dependent children in the same coverages and services as employees. Learn about the options for employers in determining what they are required to do, and not required to do, following the landmark decision.

In Windsor (2013) the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as an unconstitutional deprivation of equal protection. The Obergefell v. Hodges case was a compilation of six lawsuits in four states that defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Reasoning that the fundamental rights protected by the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process extended to personal choices, they held that a state must license a marriage between two people of the same sex.

For employee benefits purposes, the Supreme Court’s ruling says that same-sex couples are legally entitled to the same benefits under federal law as all other married couples. This session will address the impact these decisions have on employee benefits.

Speakers:

• Cynthia Marcotte Stamer, Esq., Cynthia Marcotte Stammer PC, Plano, TX - Cynthia Marcotte Stamer is Board Certified—Labor & Employment Law by Texas Board of Legal Specialization.

• William P. La Piana, New York Law School, New York, NY

• Elizabeth Ysla Leight, Esq., Director of Government Relations and Legal Affairs, SPBA, Moderator

Learning Objectives

>> Learn about what guidance is still needed from the IRS and other federal agencies.

>> Learn what employers and TPAs should know about the impact the new Supreme Court Ruling will have on the employee benefits rights of same-sex couples.

>> Learn about the impact of state law on benefit design for same-sex partners.

>> Understand the pros and cons of failing to provide health care benefits to same-sex partners.

>>What is the impact on domestic partnerships and civil unions.

Who Should Attend

Direct employees of SPBA member TPA firms and Stop-Loss Partners should attend.

Cost

The cost will be $199.99 per location for the live webinar and the podcast.  You may have as many people as can fit in a room, hear a conference call and see a computer screen for the live webinar.  

Please note:  Any transmission or re-transmission of this event to additional sites/rooms by any means including but not limited to the use of a telephone conference bridge whether or not owned by the registrant is strictly prohibited.            

Technical Notes

Technical Warning One - Once you have registered you will need to tell your technical people to set your firewalls to accept email from two different email addresses:  support@peachnewmedia.com and epilgrim@peachnewmedia.com.  Confirmation emails and reminders will be sent from these two different emails.

Technical Warning Two – Freestone is the platform used to stream the webinar.  In the event that polling questions are incorporated into the webinar, please ensure that your pop-up blocker is turned off or adjusted so that they are able to appear.

Webinar Recorded for Future Listening

In addition to this live webinar, this webinar will be recorded and offered in a streaming mode (Internet connection required) and a podcast only format (permitting you to download the recording and use it disconnected from the Internet).  The podcast is an MP3 format, audio-only file, that you can “save as” to your computer hard drive and then move to any MP3 compatible device. The podcast will not provide the corresponding PPT video since it is an audio-only file.  However, you can download the PPT from the SPBA website.