Duane Morris partner John A. Nixon and associate Timothy B. Collins wrote a guest column for the Philadelphia Business Journal on the recent same-sex marriage decision and its impact on employers.

Following the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Windsor, which held that the federal Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional in providing that only persons of the opposite sex could be recognized as "spouses" and "married" for purposes of federal law, it was only a matter of time before similar state statutes came under review by federal courts.

On May 20, 2014, it was Pennsylvania’s turn.

In Whitewood v. Wolf, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled that Pennsylvania's Domestic Relations Code limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples and prohibiting the recognition of out of state same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This ruling will have an immediate impact on benefit plans offered by Pennsylvania employers and companies employing Pennsylvania residents.

To read the full text of this article, please visit the Philadelphia Business Journal website.