Brody's Notes... Baltimore County Maryland Lesbian Police Officers Win Benefits Claim

By Brody Levesque | TOWSON, MARYLAND -- Baltimore County Police officers Officers Margaret Selby and Juanika Ballard who were denied health benefits for their same-sex spouses, were notified Tuesday that the independent arbitrator hearing their cases had ruled that Baltimore county had violated the terms of their police union contract by denying the benefits a year ago in August of 2010.

In the ten page opinion, the arbitrator agreed with the police union grievances filed in the officer's cases, maintaining that recognition of same-sex marriages conducted in states where they are legal is "not against the public policy of the State of Maryland." The arbitrator also noted that Maryland "has never enacted a law barring same-sex marriages."

In February of this year, Maryland Attorney General Douglas Gansler had issued a long-awaited opinion on whether same-sex marriages validated in other jurisdictions “may be recognized” under Maryland state law. “The answer to that question,” wrote Gansler, in an opinion dated February 23 “is clearly ‘yes’.”

Officers Selby and Ballard filed grievances in August 2010, with support from the police union, as well as LGBTQ Equality Rights Legal Advocacy group Lambda Legal. Both officers made their arguments to the arbitrator first in writing, then in oral arguments in Towson in September of this year. Claiming the county had violated the terms of their union contract, after the county began deducting premiums from their paychecks for spousal coverage, then reversed course and denied the benefits. The officers filed grievances separately and were denied by the police department's administration, followed by the county's acting labor commissioner. Tuesday's ruling means that the county must provide health benefits to the women whom they each married out of state during the summer of 2009.

The arbitrator's ruling is based on the status of marriages performed in other states where they are legal.

The county argued that Maryland law prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriages, based on the law that says "only a marriage between a man and a woman is valid in this state." The union argued that Maryland common law principles "recognize out-of-state marriage provided the marriage is valid in the jurisdiction where it took place," as the arbitrator described the case.

The arbitrator agreed with the union, holding that the recognition of same-sex marriages conducted in states where they are legal is "not against the public policy of the State of Maryland." She noted that Maryland "has never enacted a law barring same-sex marriages." 

"I'm very happy and my family is very happy," said Selby, 47, who works on patrol in the Essex precinct and has been with the department for 10 years. "I just want the same benefits that are provided to other married couples in the department." 

Ballard, 32, a patrol officer in the Franklin precinct who joined the force in 2000, said she was looking forward to "being able to take care of my family, and not be worried about things I was worried about before. I appreciate that I can be treated fairly," said Ballard. "I was optimistic that equality would prevail." 

Donald I. Mohler III, a spokesman for Baltimore County, said the Office of Law is reviewing the opinion from arbitrator Lois Hochhauser and will recommend a response. He said the county has the right to appeal the decision, but he could not say if the county's lawyers would advise that. ~ The Baltimore Sun