Ken Upton, Lambda Legal senior staff attorney
The Employee Retirement System of Texas discriminates against its LGBT employees by not offering equal pension benefits to same-sex couples.
Lambda Legal will announce today (Friday, June 19) that it is filing suit against the state retirement plan in federal court on behalf of Texas state employees and retirees. Ken Upton, senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal who works in the Dallas office, will announce the case at the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, 501 W. Fifth St., Austin.
Pensions are federally regulated and subject to federal regulations. The federal government recognizes marriages performed in marriage equality states even if the state of residence is not a marriage equality state.
