Court of Appeals Rules State Employees Can Have Live-In Benefits

The court, in a 2-1 decision, held that the Civil Service Commission was within its rights to extend such benefits because they do not violate the Constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage or union for any purpose. The language instead applies to any situation where a person lives with a state employee, not just same-sex relationships, the court held in a per curiam opinion signed by Judge Stephen Borrello and Judge Amy Ronayne Krause.
In a dissent, Judge Michael Riordan held that the Civil Service Commission’s action violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“Because the … provision makes it impermissible for one group of citizens, as opposed to another, to receive a government benefit, without there being any identifiable, rational basis for doing so, it is a denial of equal protection under the law,” Mr. Riordan wrote.