NJ Panel Finds Civil Union Partners Often Treated As Second-Class

In its First Interim Report, the panel found that civil-union status is not clear to the general public, creating a 'second-class status' and complicating interaction with hospitals and other institutions. Testimony also indicated that the law has a disparate impact on people of color and exposes registrants who are members of the U.S. military to the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.

Moreover, the law may place marital status in question when one of the spouses undergoes a sex-change operation, the commission said. The commission did not recommend changes to the act, which took effect Feb. 19, 2007, saying only that it would continue with its evaluation and review until the issuance of a final report, which is due in early 2010.

Lewis v. Harris

The commission is the built-in monitor on whether the act fulfills the mandate of Lewis v. Harris, 188 N.J. 415 (2006), in which the NJ Supreme Court directed the Legislature to enact a statutory scheme sufficient to give same-sex couples rights equal to married people. The court left it to lawmakers to decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage or to create a parallel scheme with all the rights and privileges of marriage without using that term. The Legislature chose the latter course, and New Jersey became the third state to enact civil unions.

The Civil Union Act requires the 13-member commission to study all aspects of the law's implementation, operation and effectiveness, including the effect on same-sex couples, their children and other family members, and to determine whether additional protections are needed. The statute calls for the commission to meet regularly for two more years and to issue reports every six months, culminating in a final report.

Charles Toutant is a reporter for the New Jersey Law Journal, a sister publication of this newsletter.

New Jersey's year-old Civil Union Act has failed so far to convey to registered same-sex couples the rights and privileges of marriage, a state commission reported on Feb. 18.

The Civil Union Review Comm-ission, the panel charged with gauging the Act's success in fulfilling its equal-protection mandate, recounted testimony of repeated instances of employers denying ERISA-plan health benefits to civil-union partners of their employees.

The Panel's Findings

In its First Interim Report, the panel found that civil-union status is not clear to the general public, creating a 'second-class status' and complicating interaction with hospitals and other institutions. Testimony also indicated that the law has a disparate impact on people of color and exposes registrants who are members of the U.S. military to the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy.

Moreover, the law may place marital status in question when one of the spouses undergoes a sex-change operation, the commission said. The commission did not recommend changes to the act, which took effect Feb. 19, 2007, saying only that it would continue with its evaluation and review until the issuance of a final report, which is due in early 2010.

Lewis v. Harris

The commission is the built-in monitor on whether the act fulfills the mandate of Lewis v. Harris , 188 N.J. 415 (2006), in which the NJ Supreme Court directed the Legislature to enact a statutory scheme sufficient to give same-sex couples rights equal to married people. The court left it to lawmakers to decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage or to create a parallel scheme with all the rights and privileges of marriage without using that term. The Legislature chose the latter course, and New Jersey became the third state to enact civil unions.

The Civil Union Act requires the 13-member commission to study all aspects of the law's implementation, operation and effectiveness, including the effect on same-sex couples, their children and other family members, and to determine whether additional protections are needed. The statute calls for the commission to meet regularly for two more years and to issue reports every six months, culminating in a final report.

Charles Toutant is a reporter for the New Jersey Law Journal, a sister publication of this newsletter.