The Respect for Marriage Act Bill is Congress’ response to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ Concurring Opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization – which, if you are unaware, overruled Roe v. Wade and the federal constitutional right to an abortion. In his concurrence, Justice Thomas stated that other precedents that were based on similar reasoning, like the 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges (right for same sex couples to marry) or the 1965 case of Griswold v. Connecticut (the right for married persons to obtain contraceptives), also should be reconsidered.

The House of Representatives and US Senate have introduced companion Respect for Marriage Act Bills. Both Bills would:

• Repeal the Defense of Marriage Act (which defined marriage as one between a man and a woman for purposes of federal law);
• Enshrine marriage equality (for federal law purposes, an individual is to be considered married if the marriage was valid in the state where it was performed and full faith and credit cannot be denied to any marriage between two individuals on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin); and
• Provide legal protections for marriage equality. Of interest, Congress, while protecting marriage equality in the Respect for Marriage Act Bill, does not goes as far as SCOTUS precedents that ban any state law that might prohibit marriage on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity or national origin.

The Bill passed the House of Representatives on July 19, 2022 and was introduced in the US Senate on the same day. No action has been taken in the US Senate on the Bill. Sixty votes are needed to pass the Bill - ten more than the fifty Democratic Senators - and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer stated that he would bring the Bill to floor when he has ten Republicans supporting it. Among the reasons Republicans oppose the Bill is their claim that the Bill is superfluous as SCOTUS precedents now protect constitutionally the right of two individuals to marry whom they want.

We are monitoring any developments regarding the Respect for Marriage Act – and employers should be prepared to act quickly to review any impact on their employment policies and benefits plans.