A U.S. District Court judge has denied an attempt by FedEx to throw out a lawsuit around same-sex survivor pension benefits.
The lawsuit was filed by Stacey Schuett, the widow of a long-time FedEx employee, who has been denied the survivor pension benefits her same-sex spouse earned during her career with the company.
FedEx refuses to provide the benefits because its pension plan incorporates the U.S.’s federal Defense of Marriage Act, even though that law was struck down as unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court in United States v. Windsor in 2013.
As a result of the Supreme Court’s decision, federally-regulated retirement plans must recognize the legal marriages of same-sex couples for purposes of survivor benefits.
“Following Windsor… ERISA plans, by definition, must treat couples in same-sex marriages as married for purposes of spousal benefits prescribed under ERISA, such as survivor benefits,” the Court ruled.
Stacey and Lesly Taboada-Hall were together for 30 years before they married in 2013, the day before Taboada-Hall died from uterine cancer. At the time of her death, she had been a FedEx employee for more than 26 years and was fully vested in her pension.
Schuett filed a lawsuit against FedEx after the company refused to provide her federally required spousal pension benefits because both spouses are women.
“It is shocking to me that a company that pays lip service to diversity and the importance of its employees refuses to recognize our family,” Schuett said in a press release from the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), which represents the widow.
“My wife earned her benefits during her decades of service to the company. No employer should be permitted to ignore our families and refuse to provide the hard-earned benefits of dedicated and skilled employees like Lesly.”
NCLR senior staff attorney Amy Whelan added: “Companies that claim to support diversity, as FedEx does, should be celebrating the downfall of DOMA, not trying to resurrect it for widows of FedEx employees who are fighting to receive the basic benefits their spouses earned during decades of service to the company.”
A spokesperson from FedEx said: “The court has dismissed two of Ms. Schuett’s three claims. We are reviewing the court’s ruling on the remaining claim and will consider our options on that portion of the decision.”