The state’s University System has pledged to comply with the Supreme Court’s decision legalizing same-sex marriage, but when same-sex couples can claim benefits, such as health insurance, is unclear.
Last week the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in Georgia and all other states. Georgia had been one of 13 states that banned same-sex marriage before Friday's ruling.
“The Supreme Court has ruled, and the Board of Regents will ensure the University System and its 30 institutions will comply fully with the ruling,” read a statement from the System. “We are reviewing our policies and benefits to identify what steps are necessary to ensure we are in compliance.”
But a review is not coming soon enough for some University System employees.
Todd Henry, an astronomy professor at Georgia State University, sent his campus human resources department an email 30 minutes after Friday’s ruling was announced, with questions about same-sex benefits, the documentation required to apply for them and when the new benefits would be available.
But Henry says he got a “vague” response from the school deferring to the Board of Regents for the University System and saying that information would be available at the earliest convenience.
“There is no earliest convenience. The convenience was Friday because now it’s the law of the land,” said Henry, who has long advocated for same-sex benefits in the University System. “The University System could have done something about this long ago and they chose not to. They chose to allow discrimination to continue.”
Some University System schools offer voluntary benefits, such as dental and vision insurance to domestic partners of employees, but not health insurance benefits that traditionally married couples receive. The University Council at the University of Georgia pushed for health insurance coverage for unmarried partners but was rebuffed when UGA's Foundation refused to fund the benefit.
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