Giving the same rights to everyone! He needs to be impeached!

News Release

WHD News Release: [06/20/2014]
Contact Name: Jennifer Marion or Jason Surbey
Phone Number: (202) 693-5795 or x4668
Email: marion.jennifer.r@dol.gov or Surbey.Jason@dol.gov
Release Number: 14-1208-NAT

Proposed rule to extend Family Medical Leave Act protections to all eligible employees in same-sex marriages announced by US Labor Secretary

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez announced today a proposed rule extending the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act to all eligible employees in legal same-sex marriages regardless of where they live. The proposal would help ensure that all families will have the flexibility to deal with serious medical and family situations without fearing the threat of job loss. Secretary Perez is proposing this rule in light of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor, in which the court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act provision that interpreted "marriage" and "spouse" to be limited to opposite-sex marriage for the purposes of federal law.

The Department of Labor is publishing a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise the definition of spouse under the FMLA in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor, which found section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) to be unconstitutional.

Major features of the NPRM

- The Department is proposing to move from a “state of residence” rule to a rule based on where the marriage was entered into (sometimes referred to as “place of celebration”).

- The proposed definition of spouse expressly references the inclusion of same-sex marriages in addition to common law marriages, and will encompass same-sex marriages entered into abroad that could have been entered into in at least one State.

- The Department proposes to define spouse as follows:

Spouse, as defined in the statute, means a husband or wife. For purposes of this definition, husband or wife refers to the other person with whom an individual entered into marriage as defined or recognized under State law for purposes of marriage in the State in which the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside of any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and could have been entered into in at least one State. This definition includes an individual in a same-sex or common law marriage that either (1) was entered into in a State that recognizes such marriages or, (2) if entered into outside of any State, is valid in the place where entered into and could have been entered into in at least one State.

Obama is going to go down in history for many positive things. But one of the most important is his drive to end LGBT discrimination by the federal government.