The Marriage Equality Act, which went into effect on July 24, 2011, redefines marriage to include partnerships between same-sex couples. The MEA has important implications for employers, as certain protections and benefits provided under New York State law will now be available to same-sex spouses.

For example, a worker covered by New York's Military Spouse Leave Law can now take leave when his/her same-sex spouse is on leave from military deployment during a period of military conflict to a combat theater or combat zone of operations. A spouse may also recover worker's compensation benefits for a same-sex spouse's death in the workplace.

However, employee benefit plans and retirement plans generally remain unaffected by the MEA. These plans are generally covered by ERISA, a federal law which preempts state benefits and retirement law. ERISA-covered plans are unchanged by the MEA, as federal law does not permit the extension of benefits to same-sex spouses. Therefore, provisions in ERISA-covered plans that refer to a "spouse," such as those permitting a spouse to be named a beneficiary, still apply only to opposite-sex spouses.

The MEA may also affect employer tax withholdings. New York State tax law expressly states the definition of "marital status" is the same for both federal and state income taxes. However, the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage for tax or other purposes. With the passage of the MEA, it is unclear whether New York will continue to follow the federal definition of marital status for tax purposes.

The legal implications of the MEA are further complicated by President Obama's announcement in February that the Department of Justice will cease to defend the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal law codifying the definition of marriage between a man and a woman. We will provide periodic updates as additional workplace implications of the MEA continue to unfold.

On July 1, 2011, Connecticut became the first state in the nation to require employers provide employees with paid sick leave.  The new law, which goes into effect January 1, 2012, applies to businesses in the service industry with 50 or more employees in Connecticut (excluding those employers which provide child care, recreational, or educational services). The following are some of the new law's major provisions: 

• The new law applies to "service workers" (including but not limited to medical assistants, security guards, food service workers, administrative assistants, and taxi drivers) who are non-exempt under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and who work an average of at least 10 hours per week.           
• Under the new law, covered service workers accrue (1) hour of paid sick time for every 40 hours worked, capped at a maximum of forty (40) hours per year.        
• The law does not apply to "per diem" workers and "temporary workers" (as defined by the new law).        
• Paid sick time can be used for any of the following purposes:      
• The employee's illness, injury or health conditions;
• The medical diagnosis, care or treatment of the employee's mental or physical illness;
• Preventative medical care for the employee;
• The employee's child's or spouse's illness, injury or health conditions;
• The medical diagnosis, care or treatment of the employee's child's or spouse's mental or physical illness, injury or health conditional;
• Preventative medical care for the employee's child or spouse; and  
• Medical and psychological services relating to sexual assault or family violence.         
• Covered service workers begin accruing paid sick leave on January 1, 2012 (or their date of hire if hired after January 1, 2012), and may use accrued sick leave once they have worked six-hundred and eighty (680) hours.         
• Covered service workers may carry over up to forty (40) unused accrued hours of paid sick leave into the following calendar year, provided no employee is allowed to use more than forty (40) hours of paid sick leave in a given year.       
• Absent obligations under an employee policy or collective bargaining agreement, employers do not have to "pay out" accrued but unused paid sick leave upon termination of employment.        
• Sick leave pay equals either the service worker's normal hourly wage or the Connecticut minimum fair wage rate under section 31-58, whichever is greater.

Employers with preexisting paid time off policies should review their policies to ensure compliance with Connecticut's new law well before the January 1, 2012 effective date. Under the new law's "safe harbor" provision, covered employers who employ service workers may comply with the new law by implementing (or continuing to offer) paid time off policies which are at least as generous as, and no more restrictive than, the new paid sick leave law.

On June 28, 2011, Governor Chris Christie passed sweeping changes to New Jersey's pension and health care contribution laws for public workers.  Effective immediately, these changes affect employees who contribute to the Teachers' Pension Annuity Fund (TRAF), the Judicial Retirement System (JRS), the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS), the Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS) and the State Police Retirement System (SPRS).

This legislation provides for increased pension contributions for public workers. Employees who contribute to PERS and TPAF must now pay 6.5 % and an additional 1%, phased-in over 7 years, which is increased from 5.6%.  JRS employees must now contribute 12% to their pension plans, phased in over 7 years, which is increased from 3%.  SPRS contributions increased from 7.5% to 9%, while PFRS and PERS Prosecutors Part employee contributions increased from 8.5% to 10%.

The law also increases the early retirement requirements for certain public workers. New members of TPAF and PERS must now be age 65 and have 30 years' service to receive their full early retirement benefits.

Finally, the legislation requires all active, public employees to pay a certain percentage of their health care benefits coverage, with rates increasing based on salary and whether the employee's family is covered by the plan.  No public employee will pay less than 1.5% of his or her compensation, unless the employee pays for health care based on cost of coverage.

Public employers should review their pension and health care benefit programs immediately to ensure compliance with this law.