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8/12/2019 Amicus Brief of NEA et al. in DeBoer v. Snyder

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1

INTEREST OF AMICI CURIAE

This brief, submitted with the consent of the parties, is filed on behalf of

a group of labor organizations that represent workers throughout the State of

Michigan. 1 Amici submit this brief in support of the Appellees to urge this

Court to affirm the district courts judgment below striking down the Michigan

Marriage Amendment (MMA), Mich. Const. art. I, 25, because it violates the

Appellees rights under the Equal Protection Clause. 2

Amici are dedicated to the equal and fair treatment of all workers.

Protecting workers economic rightsincluding those of workers who are

lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)is an important part of our

collective mission. Amici have a significant interest in this case because the

1 Amici Labor Organizations are the National Education Association(NEA) and its affiliate the Michigan Education Association (MEA); the ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU) and its affiliates SEIU HealthcareMichigan, SEIU Local 517M, and SEIU Local 1; the American Federation ofState, County, and Municipal Employees, AFLCIO (AFSCME); and theAmerican Federation of Teachers, AFLCIO (AFT) and its affiliate AFTMichigan. The Amici are identified more fully in the Appendix to this brief.

2 Amici certify, pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure29(c)(5), that no partys counsel authored this brief in whole or in part, nor

did any party or partys counsel contribute money that was intended to fundpreparing or submitting this brief. No personother than the Amici and theirmemberscontributed money that was intended to fund preparing orsubmitting this brief.



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21

who file joint tax returns may deduct contributions made to a retirement

account on behalf of a spouse who is out of work. 41 Samesex couples that are

prevented from marrying by the MMA, however, cannot take advantage of

these tax benefits, and are thereby denied equal footing in saving for a secure

retirement.

The divide furthers when one member of the couple dies. Surviving

spouses of lawfully married couples are permitted to roll over a deceased

spouses IRA or 401(k) plan into their own account and to defer withdrawing

funds from the account until they reach 70 years of age. 42 By contrast, a

partner in an unmarried samesex couple who is designated as the beneficiary

of the other partners retirement account is required to commence

withdrawing distributions by the end of the year following the year of death. 43

B. The Economic Insecurity Caused by the MMA Undermines Working Families and the Social and Economic Interests of the Entire State

The professed justification for depriving samesex couples of the right

to marry is the advancement of the States interest in caring for children.

(Dkt. 46 at 53.) And, to be sure, marriagealong with the panoply of

41 Id. 25B(d)(2)(D), 408, 408A.42 Id. 401(a)(9).43 Id .



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22

accompanying benefits and rights we describe above does promote caring

for children. But what neither the State nor its supporting amici can explain is

how that interest is advanced in any meaningful way by withholding marriage

from samesex couples.

At best, they intimate that marriage is somehow unnecessary for same

sex couples because they, unlike differentsex couples, cannot conceive

children by accident. ( See, e.g., id. at 5354.) But, as we have already

demonstrated, the MMAs denial of full marriage rights to LGBT couples has

farreaching consequences for the economic security and wellbeing of same

sex couples and their families: their children are denied legal ties to their

parents; they face health coverage disparities and unequal access to health

insurance; they are denied financial protections when a parent dies or is

disabled; and they face higher tax burdens and obstacles in planning for their

retirements. And, even when legal arrangements exist that can help mitigate

some of these burdenssuch as parental guardianship agreements or wills

and estate planningthe expertise and expense necessary to obtain them is

often out of reach for LGBT families.44

44 Movement Advancement Project et al., Strengthening Economic Security for Children Living in LGBT Families 8 (Jan. 2012).



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30

III. The MMA Conscripts the Amici s Own Members into Discrimination Against LGBT Families

The impact of the MMA is significant, not just for the Amici and other

labor organizations who must attempt to negotiate around its discriminatory

effects, and for the LGBT workers Amici represent who are directly affected by

the MMAs mandated unequal treatment. The MMA also forces many of the

Amici s members to discriminate against those they serve in their professions.

A. Among the Amici are several labor organizationsincluding NEA,

MEA, and AFTthat represent education professionals who regularly interact

with the parents of their students, relaying information about students status,

seeking authorization or approval for various decisions about the students

education, and otherwise actively engaging parents in the educational

process. The MMA, however, forces the members of these labor organizations

to discriminate against the parents of their students who are in a samesex

partnerships becauseregardless of whether a student has two active and

involved parentsonly one of those parents may be legally recognized.

As educators and advocates for the children they teach, these members

recognize and experience firsthand how the MMAs mandated discrimination

humiliates . . . thousands of children now being raised by samesex couples

and makes it even more difficult for the[se] children to understand the



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APPENDIX: IDENTIFICATION OF AMICI

NEA is a nationwide employee organization representing approximatelythree million members, the vast majority of whom serve as educators and

education support professionals in our nations public schools, colleges, anduniversities. NEA supports the elimination of barriers premised on anindividuals sexual orientation that prevent those individuals from exercisingrights enjoyed by others. It also opposes state laws that curtail basic civilrights, and is committed to the elimination of discrimination on the basis ofsexual orientation.

MEA is a labor organization representing more than 115,000 publicschool and higher education employees in the state of Michigan. MEA isaffiliated with NEA. MEA is committed to the achievement of a totallyintegrated society including removing barriers premised on an individualssexual orientation or gender identity that prevent some individuals fromexercising rights that are enjoyed by others. MEA opposes any laws thatcurtail or infringe on basic human rights.

SEIU represents two million workers in service industries throughoutthe United States and Canada. SEIU considers the rights of lesbian, gay,bisexual and transgender Americans an important piece of its overall mission,advocating for the rights of workers. For decades, SEIU local unions have

fought for domestic partner benefits and, more recently, for transgenderinclusive healthcare coverage in union contracts. SEIU has fought forprohibitions forbidding employers from firing lesbian and gay workersbecause of their sexual orientation or gender identity, and it has implementedprograms to train and educate members and staff on ways to fightdiscrimination in the workplace. A decade ago SEIU members expressed theircommitment to equality for LGBT people when they adopted a resolutionsupporting marriage rights for samesex couples.

SEIUs Michigan affiliates, SEIU Healthcare Michigan, SEIU Local 517M,and SEIU Local 1, together represent almost twentyfive thousand healthcareworkers, property services workers, public service workers in the State ofMichigan. These SEIU local unions consider the MMA a severe impediment totheir ability to represent their members effectively and to advocate for therights of workers in a manner that takes into account the diversity of allcitizens of the State of Michigan.



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AFSCME is a nationwide labor organization with approximately 1.6million members employed in a wide range of occupations providing vitalpublic services, including as nurses, social workers, corrections officers, firstresponders, home health care workers and child care providers. AFSCMEadvocates for fairness and equality in the workplace, excellence in publicservices, social and economic justice, and for prosperity and opportunity forall working families.

AFT represents 1.5 million members who are employed across thenation and overseas in K12 and higher education, public employment andhealthcare. AFT Michigan, an affiliate of the AFT, represents approximately35,672 members in 102 affiliates in the state of Michigan. Both AFT and AFT

Michigan have a strong interest in supporting civil rights issues and regularlyparticipate in litigation fighting bias in the workplace. AFT and AFT Michiganconsider the fair and equal treatment of the economic rights of gay andlesbian Americans at work as an important part of their mission to advancethe workplace rights of all employees, including its members. Furthermore,both AFT and AFT Michigan have a commitment to protect the economicinterests of its members, including its gay and lesbian brothers and sisters.The commitment of AFT and AFT Michigan to advancing the workplace rightsof gay men and lesbian women is demonstrated by, among other things, their

active opposition to state ballot propositions, including the Michigan MarriageAmendment, that have sought to limit the constitutional rights of samesexcouples.


amicus brief of nea et al. in deboer v. snyder

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