LABOR

Too many employers across New Jersey do not recognize civil unions as the equivalent of marriage. The employers say that if legislators intended for civil unions to be the same as marriage, they would have called it the same: Marriage. On that basis, these employers deny employees in civil unions the right to put their partners on their health care plans. The employees and their civil union partners go then without sufficient health care coverage, which has devastating on the couple and their children, especially in this economy when few can afford to pay for health care on their own. That’s why marriage equality is a labor issue.

If you are a member of a labor union and would like to get involved in Garden State Equality’s campaign for marriage equality, email us at Labor@GardenStateEquality.org with your name, phone number and the name of your union, or call us at (973) GSE-LGBT.

How do employers get away with not complying with New Jersey’s civil union law? They cite the federal Employment Retirement Income Security Act, ERISA, as a legal loophole. Indeed, ERISA is a loophole and it is legal. ERISA exempts approximately half of all New Jersey employers from having to comply with the New Jersey civil union law. How?

ERISA mandates that companies that are self-insured – meaning companies which have their own, custom insurance plans rather than buy a ready-made plan from an insurer – are covered by federal law, not state law. About half of all companies have their own, custom insurance plans nowadays and are therefore covered by ERISA. And because federal law, including ERISA, explicitly does not recognize same-sex relationships, the New Jersey civil union law is an option, not a mandate, for about half the companies in New Jersey.

So if federal law does not recognize same-sex relationships, what difference would marriage equality make? A big one. Employers in Massachusetts, which has had marriage equality since 2004, invoke ERISA far less than employers in New Jersey have. Massachusetts employers understand, respect and are persuaded by the power and equality of the word “marriage.”

New Jersey employers, in contrast, can hide behind the term “civil union” and euphemistically say, “we don’t recognize civil unions” rather than admit they are discriminating against LGBT people. Without the term “civil union” to hide behind, Massachusetts employers are loathe to discriminate against their LGBT employees. They would have to admit the reason for their discrimination.

Garden State Equality is proud that many unions based in New Jersey or with a significant membership in New Jersey have endorsed marriage equality. They include: