What constitutes a legal spouse for the purpose ofbeing eligible to receive health benefits?
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What constitutes a legal spouse for the purpose ofbeing eligible to receive health benefits?
I was hired by my employer on 4/4/11. The pre-employment paperwork which I reviewed to determine whether I should take the job or not said they provide benefits for my “legal spouse” and another paper says “spouse is the individual to whom you are legally married for federal income tax purposes.” Now they are saying that we don’t qualify because I am transgendered and present as a women and thereby we are same sex and the company’s benefit policy, which was not provided prior to employment, requires we be man and woman. I relocated from CO to MD for this position. My wife and I are married.
Asked on May 23, 2011 under Employment Labor Law, Maryland
Answers:
MD, Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
Here is the problem. Your dilemma is one of many issues each state is reviewing for tax purposes, health benefit purposes, educational purposes and other reasons. It is a political hotbed. So if your state does not recognize a transgendered person's marriage to someone (a woman) as a legal marriage (even if it was legal in Connecticut), then you cannot force the health insurance company to recognize the marriage. If your birth certificate has not changed or your social security card and your marriage in Connecticut was between and registered as between a man and a woman, then Maryland should probably be required based on the Full Faith and Credit Clause to recognize it. Talk to a lawyer about this and see if you need to show all of your records and appeal the coverage with the insurance department and possibly file a claim with your state's insurance department.
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