Public Employee Press

State OKs benefits for out-of-state same-sex marriages

New York State will now recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages when providing spousal health care and other benefits to civil servants.
The new policy affects DC 37 state workers in Court, County & Dept. of Probation Employees Local 1070, Rent Regulation Services Employees Local 1359 and Metropolitan Transportation Authority Clerical Employees Local 1655.

On April 27, the state Dept. of Civil Service announced the new policy, which went into effect on May 1. The department has changed its policy to recognize the marriages of couples of the same gender who married in a jurisdiction where same-sex marriage is legal. Today, those jurisdictions include Massachusetts, Canada, Spain, South Africa, the Netherlands and Belgium. The state already accepts civil unions for domestic partner coverage.

“This policy furthers Governor Spitzer’s recently announced intention to create civil marriage equality for all New Yorkers,” said Nancy G. Groenwegan, commissioner of the Dept. of Civil Service.

A week before the state announced the new policy, Gov. Eliot Spitzer introduced a bill to recognize civil marriage equality for all New Yorkers. Spitzer is the first governor in the country to take such a step.

Besides the health plans offered through the New York State Health Insurance Program (NYSHIP), the new policy extends coverage to the same-sex marriage spouses of civil servants for all the other benefit programs administered by the Employee Benefits Division of the Dept. of Civil Service. These benefits include vision, life insurance and dental coverage, as well as the retiree long-term care program.

NYSHIP covers over 1.1 million state and local government employees, retirees and their families, including employees of more than 800 local governments.

In addition to following the governor’s introduction of the marriage equality bill, the policy change came after the advocacy group Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit to require the state to provide spousal benefits for couples in same-sex marriages.

“This policy brings much-needed insurance coverage to married lesbian and gay New Yorkers working throughout New York,” said Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Susan Sommer. “As this policy makes clear, same-sex couples who have married in places like Canada are entitled to full respect and protections for their marriages under New York law.”

Years ago, DC 37 successfully fought for local legislation to extend health care and other benefits to the domestic partners of city employees. In 2005, New York City decided to recognize the marriages and civil unions of same-sex couples performed in jurisdictions such as Massachusetts and Canada.

State employees should contact their employer’s human resources department for information on how to enroll. Information is also available on the Dept. of Civil Service’s Web site (www.cs.state.ny.us). You may e-mail Erin.Barlow@cs.state.ny.us if you have trouble finding the appropriate forms and information.