The Treasury Department announced Aug. 29 that gay spouses in all states will be treated as married under federal tax law even if local authorities don’t recognize their marriages. Prior to that, the Internal Revenue Service was prohibited from letting married homosexual couples file joint tax returns.
It is the second expansion of benefits for American workers this week. The Labor Department on Sept. 17 issued a final rule to extend minimum wage and overtime benefits to nearly 2 million home health-care workers.