A pension benefits claim that was brought about by a same sex widow in the US has been allowed to proceed by a US District Court Judge. There were three parts to the claim but the judge has dismissed two allowing only one to proceed.
Stacey Schuett (plaintiff) was in a relationship with Lesly Taboada-Hall for 27 years, on 19 June 2013 they were married in a civil ceremony, prior to licenses for same-sex couples became available in California.
Lesly Taboada-Hall had been an employee of FedEx for 26 years and was a member of the company’s defined benefit pension plan. In 2010 she was diagnosed with cancer and in 2012 took a leave of absence on medical grounds before passing away on 20 June 2013.
The definition of a spouse outlined within the FedEx pension plan – is a person of the opposite sex this was also according to the Defense Against Marriage Act (DOMA) and Act that was declared unconstitutional on 26 June 2013.
Stacey Schuett v. FedEx Corporation et. al.
There were three claims brought about by the plaintiff against FedEx in this claim.
Payment of surviving spouse benefits – the claim was dismissed on the basis that insufficient facts were shown to prove that FedEx had abused its discretion regarding interpretation of the pension plan barring Schuett’s eligibility for survivor benefits as at her partner’s date of death. Seeking equitable relief including payment of survivor spouse benefits for breach of fiduciary duty – this was allowed to proceed. This claim was to seek equitable remedy i.e. payment of non-spousal survivor benefits based on a breach of fiduciary duty, this was for failure to disclose information – this was denied.Amy Whelan, senior staff attorney at the National Centre for Lesbian Rights (NCLR), one of the bodies representing Schuett, said: “Organisations that claim to support diversity 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 organisation.”
A FedEx spokesperson added: “”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.”
Comment
Whilst this is a case from the US it does serve to show that there is still some work to be done when it comes to equality.
