Today’s Internal Revenue Service (IRS) deadline for filing taxes can be a stark reminder for thousands of legally married same-sex couples of the inequality they face if they happen to live in a state that doesn’t recognize their marriage. While they are able to file jointly at the federal level, tax day can be even…
After the IRS decision to allow gay and lesbian married couples to file joint federal tax returns, we noted that a number of states would have to provide guidance because they require two contradictory things: (1) if you file a joint federal return, you must file a joint state return, and (2) same-sex married couples cannot…
The first time I did taxes for Greg and Linda, I was blindsided. They were married the summer before they became my clients. Both of them had only ever received refunds on their tax returns. And this year, they owed money to Uncle Sam. A lot, too. I, like my new clients, hadn’t really internalized…
WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), today responded to the fact that only three Federal Employee Health Benefit (FEHB) providers will begin offering transition related health care coverage in 2015 for transgender federal employees: AETNA, Kaiser Permanente, and the Foreign Service Benefit Plan. Kaiser Permanente’s plan will significantly limit the scope of coverage. “Transgender…
WASHINGTON – If passed, a new piece of federal legislation (S. 2706/H.R. 5285) introduced this week would open a floodgate of adoption discrimination around the country. Penned by Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA), the new bill would allow adoption or foster care providers to refuse service on the basis of their…
WASHINGTON – Last night at the White House LGBT Pride Reception, President Obama announced he would be issuing an executive order to protect transgender federal employees from workplace discrimination. Once issued, it would expand upon an executive order from President Bill Clinton, which banned workplace discrimination among federal employees on the basis of sexual orientation. …
With any hope for legislative action on the Employer Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) all but quashed for the foreseeable future, President Obama has announced plans for an executive order banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity for all federal contractors seeking bids from the U.S. Government. The action, which politically speaking is about all…
In a historic day, a federal judge in Indiana struck down the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, followed almost immediately by the first appellate level win since last year’s Windsor decision as the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that struck down Utah’s ban late last year. “I remember like it…
NEW YORK – At its annual meeting today in Dallas, the U.S. Conference of Mayors overwhelmingly passed a resolution calling on federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to expeditiously bring an end to marriage discrimination against gay couples nationwide. Mayors from states that still ban marriage for same-sex couples, including Arizona, Texas, Ohio, Colorado, Missouri,…
WASHINGTON—Following the Supreme Court’s historic decision striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, Attorney General Eric Holder on Friday issued a formal report on the yearlong effort by the Justice Department and other federal agencies to implement the decision smoothly across the entire government. “I am pleased to report that agencies across the federal…
