Cambridge, Mass. to pay gay married employees more than straight employees
Sun. July 10, 2011 1:59 PM by GoPride.com News Staff
Cambridge, Mass. -
The City of Cambridge, Mass., will be adding thousands extra to the yearly paychecks of gay and lesbian employees who are married to their same-sex spouses.
The money is meant to off-set what the City Council calls an "unfair" imbalance in the way the federal government taxes health care benefits for same-sex couples.
Cambridge will add a total of $1,500 to $3,000 to the 22 workers' annual salaries.
"This is about equality," Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker told the Associated Press. "This is a city that models what equality really means."
Supporters said the $33,000 estimated total cost is a drop in the city's $500 million annual budget, but opponents were appalled.
"It's a travesty of using taxpayer monies to circumvent a national policy," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.
The money is meant to off-set what the City Council calls an "unfair" imbalance in the way the federal government taxes health care benefits for same-sex couples.
Cambridge will add a total of $1,500 to $3,000 to the 22 workers' annual salaries.
"This is about equality," Cambridge City Councilor Marjorie Decker told the Associated Press. "This is a city that models what equality really means."
Supporters said the $33,000 estimated total cost is a drop in the city's $500 million annual budget, but opponents were appalled.
"It's a travesty of using taxpayer monies to circumvent a national policy," said Kris Mineau, president of the Massachusetts Family Institute.