On December 13, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act, which passed the Senate and House with bipartisan support. Many see the bill as a reaction to a concurrence in the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that hinted at some of the justices’ thoughts on privacy rights and questioned whether the Constitution guaranteed the right to same-sex and interracial marriage. The act specifically repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act from the 1990s and prohibits states from denying “full faith and credit” to any marriage between two individuals based on sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin. The question for employers is how does this act affect your obligations to married employees?
