DOMA–Defense of Marriage Act; Not Good For Business

By: Edward Viljoen on Wednesday, November 09, 2011

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More than 70 major U.S. business have signed a formal statement saying that the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act hurts business.  Well, I suppose that’s a better-than-nothing reason to dismantle the rule that bans federal government from recognizing marriages between people of the same sex.  I’m so confused, I thought the act was already declared unconstitutional in court, and didn’t President Obama and the Attorney General chime in the same?
The statement presents a scenario in which an employer is held accountable for checking into the gender of spouses of employees so as to be able to enforce discriminatory treatment of those married couples who are same gender.  I’m confused again.  What if the state in which the same gendered married is employed
lawfully recognizes?  Is the employer required to maintain two sets of records for different payroll taxes and benefits administration?  Hmm, new jobs are being created: Compliance Specialists. 
Here is the list of companies which signed the statement:   http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com)
Many companies already extend same-gendered couples benefits and ProCon.org has provided a list of 141 Fortune 500 companies that do so, and 35 companies that earn the title of “Gay Un-Friendly” according to their index rating score.
Here is the list of companies signing the amicus brief as reported by David Badash on November 5, 2011.
ABT Associates
Aetna, Inc.
Akamai Technologies, Inc.
Alere Inc.
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
Biogen Idec, Inc.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mass., Inc.
Boston Community Capital, Inc.
Boston Medical Center Corp.
Bright Horizons Children’s Centers LLC
Calvert Investments, Inc.
CBS Corporation
The Chubb Corporation
Communispace Corp.
Constellation Energy Group, Inc.
Diageo North America, Inc.
Eastern Bank Corp.
Exelon Corp.
FitCorp Healthcare Centers, Inc.
Gammelgården, LLC
Google Inc.
Integrated Archive Systems, Inc.
Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group, LLC
Levi Strauss & Co.
Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC
Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co.
Massachusetts Envelope Company, Inc.
Massachusetts Financial Services Company
Microsoft Corp.
National Grid USA, Inc.
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co.
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
New England Cryogenic Center, Inc.
NIKE, Inc.
The Ogilvy Group, Inc.
Onyx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Partners HealthCare System, Inc.
Reproductive Science Center of New England
Skyworks Solutions, Inc.
Starbucks Corp.
State Street Bank and Trust Co.
Stonyfield Farm, Inc.
Sun Life Financial (U.S.) Services Co., Inc.
Time Warner Cable, Inc.
Trillium Asset Management Corp.
W/​S Development Associates LLC
Xerox Corp.
Zipcar, Inc.
Law and professional firms:
Burns & Levinson LLP
Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP
Foley Hoag LLP
Goodwin Proctor LLP
Goulston & Storrs, P.C.
McCarter & English LLP
Nixon Peabody LLP
Parthenon Group LLC
Ropes & Gray LLP
Salera Consulting
Seyfarth Shaw LLP
Sullivan & Worcester LLP
Professional, trade and civic organizations:
Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce
The Boston Foundation
Massachusetts Association of Health Plans
Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, Inc.
The National Fire Protection Association
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates
Retailers Association of Massachusetts
And the following cities:
The City of Boston, MA
The City of Cambridge, MA
The City of New York, NY