The Taboada-Hall/Schuett family in happier days
What a difference
six days can make:
A California woman sued FedEx, where her late wife worked for 26 years, on Wednesday for refusing to pay $400,000 in spousal benefits because it would not recognize their marriage.
Lesly Taboada-Hall, who was a driver for the company, died of uterine cancer on June 20, 2013. Six days later, the Supreme Court struck down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which barred federal recognition of gay marriage.
Because the ruling came six days after the death of Lesly Taboada-Hall, FedEx is refusing to pay the main pension benefits to Stacey Schuett, Taboada-Hall's legal spouse:
The couple, who had earlier registered as domestic partners, wed in Taboada-Hall's hospital room on the day before she died. Gay marriage became legal in California because of a separate ruling on the day of the DOMA decision. A state judge later ruled that their marriage was valid.
After 26 years of service, FedEx should do the right thing and take care Stacey Schuett and her children in the same way they would any other married person who devoted so many years to the company. Schuett's lawyer said:
"It's not like DOMA became unconstitutional on June 26, 2013," said Nina Wasow, one of Schuett's lawyers. "The law was unconstitutional all along."
Maybe attention to the case will be cause enough for executives at FedEx to change their mind without a lengthy court battle.