Posted May 15th, 2015 in Top Stories

Wall Street Journal Turns to Nilan Johnson Lewis for Expertise on Employment Benefits for Front Page Story

Nilan Johnson Lewis labor and employment attorney Jen Cornell recently offered her expertise to the Wall Street Journal for a story about domestic partnership benefits being replaced by spousal benefits, in light of gay marriage becoming legal in more states. The story “Firms Tell Gay Couples: Wed or Lose Your Benefits” appeared on pages A1 and A2 of the May 13, 2015 edition.

With same sex marriage being legal in all but 13 states, about a third of U.S. employers currently provide benefits for unmarried gay partners. But in states where gay marriage is legal, some employers are discontinuing domestic partner benefits and requiring all couples to wed whether gay or straight before receiving benefits. Cornell discussed the possibility of reverse discrimination lawsuits for employers, and how that is partially fueling the push for dropping domestic partnership benefits.