Federal Law A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June 2013 invalidated the part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) which defined 'marriage' as a legal union between one man and one woman, and 'spouse' as a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife, for purposes of all federal laws and agency regulations. DOMA impacted a wide range of federal laws related to employee benefits, including COBRA and FMLA.   As a result of the ruling, federal benefits are extended to legally married same-sex couples who reside in states where same-sex marriage is recognized. Further agency guidance is needed to clarify how the ruling applies to legally married same-sex couples living in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage. Depending on the specific federal benefit at issue, marital status may be determined based on the same-sex marriage laws of the state of residence or of the state that issued the marriage license.    A state's law concerning same-sex marriage is therefore relevant for purposes of federal law, including access to federal benefits that are available to married couples of the opposite sex. The information on this page provides an overview of state-specific laws regarding same-sex marriage and civil unions/domestic partnerships (which were not affected by the DOMA ruling).