Same-sex couple entitled to benefits, arbitrator rules

        Arbitrator Lois Hochhauser issued an award upholding a grievance filed on behalf of two Baltimore County police officers, finding that the county had improperly refused to provide benefits to their same- sex spouses. Baltimore County police officers win same-sex benefits claim - baltimoresun.com. The arbitrator rejected the County’s claim that Maryland did not recognize same sex marriages performed in a different jurisdiction. Both grievants had been married in jurisdictions recognizing same sex marriages.

         The arbitrator held that the recognition of same-sex marriages conducted in states where they are legal is not against the public policy of the State of Maryland noting that Maryland had never enacted a law barring same-sex marriages.

A summary prepared by Lambda Legal, which assisted in the presentation of the grievance, can be found here