In yet another
example of the disparity between same-sex couples and
married heterosexuals, a Pennsylvania woman has been denied
unemployment benefits after moving to Florida with her
partner of eight years.
Under a doctrine
called "follow the spouse," a husband or wife obliged
to quit his or her job by a family move qualifies for
unemployment benefits in the state of Pennsylvania and
elsewhere.
But Joan Procito,
a financial manager in Drexel Hill, was given the cold
shoulder by the Unemployment Compensation Board of Review
after she moved to Florida with her partner and
stepson. Procito's partner, Mary Jo Sheller, moved to
Florida to be close to her disabled son, who was
entering college.
Procito is suing
the state officials in commonwealth court, where a
three-judge panel heard arguments last week. According to
the Philadelphia Inquirer, the board of review's
attorney, Gerard M. Mackarevich, told the panel "it would be
madness" for the board to treat same-sex couples the same as
spouses.
"How," asked
Mackarevich, "can the Unemployment Compensation Board
of Review pick and choose between people to decide whether
they are sufficiently intermingled to qualify as
legally married?"
The dilemma might
seem insurmountable to Mackarevich, but the state of
New York has managed nicely, ever since the American Civil
Liberties Union challenged state policy in an
identical case five years ago.
Like Procito,
Jeanne Newland followed her partner, who found a better job
in Virginia back in 2002. Newland assumed she'd quickly find
a job of her own there, but after some time passed
with no success, she decided to apply for
unemployment. One bureaucrat told her that she would qualify
if she had been engaged to be married to a man.
Newland and the
ACLU went to the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board,
where even Newland's former employer lobbied on her behalf,
to no avail. In June 2003, Gov. George Pataki wrote to
the board, asking it to reconsider. The board agreed.
While the
reconsideration was pending, however, the New York
Department of Labor changed its policy. In a letter to
the board in early 2004, the department recognized
that unmarried couples in committed relationships have
"good cause" for surrendering a job when their partner must
relocate.
Apparently, New
York has not faced "madness" in the 2 1/2 years since
the unemployment policy has been changed. Nor has the Empire
State had a problem determining the difference between
life partners and casual friends. In Pennsylvania,
meanwhile, Procito will wait for the court to rule and
take it from there. (Ann Rostow, Gay.com)
