XPost: ba.politics, dc.media, soc.penpals   
   XPost: alt.burningman   
   From: sue@obama.info   
      
   The Obama administration will work to ensure that gay and   
   lesbian Americans are eligible to take leave from their jobs to   
   care for a same-sex spouse, regardless of whether they live in a   
   state that recognizes gay marriage, the White House said Friday.   
      
   President Barack Obama is directing the Labor Department to   
   start drafting rules making clear that the Family and Medical   
   Leave Act applies to same-sex couples, allowing gay and lesbian   
   employees to take unpaid leave to care for a sick spouse   
   regardless of where they live.   
      
   Currently, legally married couples are eligible for those   
   benefits if they reside in a state in which same-sex marriage is   
   legal.   
      
   Obama is directing the Department of Labor to propose a rule   
   extending the FMLA rights even to states where gay unions are   
   not legal.   
      
   The move comes three years after the Obama administration   
   stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act, which lets states   
   refuse to recognize gay marriages performed in other states.   
      
   The rule is being issued as Attorney General Eric Holder   
   announces the results of a review of U.S. laws in the wake of   
   the landmark 2013 Supreme Court Windsor decision that held that   
   the survivor of a same-sex couple could claim the federal estate   
   tax exemption for surviving spouses.   
      
   The decision forced the federal government to recognize same-sex   
   marriages in states where it is legal and has paved the way for   
   the Obama administration to take steps to expand the legal   
   rights of gay couples.   
      
   The Family and Medical Leave Act allows employees to take   
   unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical purposes.   
      
   Holder is due to issue a review on Friday of how the more than   
   1,000 different federal rights and obligations linked to a   
   marriage or a spouse are affected by the Windsor decision.   
      
   Obama on Tuesday said he would sign an executive order barring   
   federal contractors from discriminating against employees based   
   on their sexual orientation, but he also told gay rights   
   activists they need to keep up the pressure on Congress to pass   
   a broader law.   
      
   In February, Holder announced widespread changes within the   
   Justice Department to benefit same-sex married couples, such as   
   recognizing a legal right for them not to testify against each   
   other in civil and criminal cases.   
      
   The White House is promoting the move as part of Obama's push to   
   expand protections for gays and lesbians by allowing same-sex   
   couples to take advantage of the same federal benefits available   
   to married heterosexual couples.   
      
   http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2663448/Obama-moves-   
   ensure-sick-leave-gay-couples.html   
      
       
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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