Seyfarth Joins U.S. Supreme Court Brief Opposing the Defense of Marriage Act

Contacts:
Brian Kiefer, Director of Public Relations
(312) 460-6401, bkiefer@seyfarth.com

Ivette Delgado, Senior Public Relations Associate
(212) 218-5273, idelgado@seyfarth.com

CHICAGO (February 27, 2013) – Signing on as an employer, Seyfarth Shaw LLP is among the 278 businesses, cities and other employers that today filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor, opposing the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

The brief advises the Supreme Court that, in those states which recognize same-sex marriage, federal DOMA forces an employer to place its lawfully married employees into two categories and requires that they create and administer a variety of dual systems for these employees. This creates regulatory, tax, and morale problems for employers, and forces them to differentiate in distributing benefits to lawfully married couples, all of which the brief explains in detail.

The amici group seeks a simpler, more efficient rule so that they can operate their organizations as productively and competitively as possible, asking that the federal government not hinder an employer from treating all of its married employees equally. Seyfarth shares these goals, and further, believes that the brief supports the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion within the legal profession.      

The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in this case on Wednesday, March 27, 2013.

Seyfarth Shaw has more than 800 attorneys and provides a broad range of legal services in the areas of labor and employment, employee benefits, litigation, corporate and real estate. With offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, Sacramento, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., Seyfarth’s clients include over 300 of the Fortune 500 companies and reflect virtually every industry and segment of the economy. For more information, please visit www.seyfarth.com.