Employee Benefits for Same-Sex Couples - What Has Changed in 2010 and Beyond and What Should Employers Be Considering

Todd Solomon, a partner at McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and a frequent speaker on employee benefits issues resulting from domestic partnerships and same-sex marriages, discusses the latest legal developments impacting employee benefits for same-sex couples. Topics include:

• a survey of the current state of the law relating to the recognition of same-sex marriage (domestic partnerships, reciprocal beneficiaries, civil unions, same-sex marriage)
• the recent trend of states reversing course on the recognition of same-sex marriage (California Proposition 8, Maryland)
• the status of legal challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act and California Proposition 8
• the new Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index and the impact on benefit plans
• the recent changes of the Pension Protection Act and the impact on same-sex couples
• the status of legal proposals relating to domestic partner benefits taxation and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

About the presenter: 
Todd A. Solomon, Esq. is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in its Chicago office. A member of the Employee Benefits Department, he concentrates his  practice primarily on designing, amending, and administering pension plans, profit sharing plans, 401(k) plans, employee stock ownership plans, 403(b) plans, and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also counsels privately and publicly-held corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary issues under ERISA, employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation matters, and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners of employees. Mr. Solomon is the author of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Editions of Domestic Partner Benefits - An Employer's Guide, which were published by Thompson Publishing Group in 2000, 2003, 2006 and 2007, and is a frequent speaker on employee benefits issues.

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