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No same-sex benefits for employees
February 07, 2007 by Ross Runkel at LawMemo
Public sector employees in Michigan can't get benefits for their same-sex partners. Why? Michigan’s “marriage amendment” prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any purpose.
National Pride At Work v. Governor of Michigan (Michigan Ct App 02/01/2007).
In 2004, Michigan voters approved the “marriage amendment” to the Michigan Constitution. That amendment (set forth at Article I, section 25 of the Michigan Constitution) provides:
“To secure and preserve the benefits of marriage for our society and for future generations of children, the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.”
The court held that the marriage amendment, by its plain language, “prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any purpose.”
More particularly, the court held that the marriage amendment prohibits public employers from
- entering into contractual agreements with their employees to provide domestic partner benefits; or
- voluntarily providing domestic partner benefits as a matter of policy.
The court reasoned that “[t]he operative language of the amendment plainly precludes the extension of benefits related to an employment contract, if the benefits are conditioned on or provided because of an agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union.”
The court also held that the marriage amendment does not violate the equal protection provision of the Michigan Constitution, since it “does not make arbitrary or invidious distinctions in furthering the legitimate governmental interests of the state.”
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