The terms "spouse" and "marriage" in ERISA and a host of other employee benefit laws over which the Department of Labor has jurisdiction will now include same-sex couples legally married in any state that recognizes such marriages.

So said the DOL on Wednesday in issuing the latest regulatory guidance since the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act earlier this year.

Most critically, the agency said its determination about how employers should interpret "spouse" and "marriage" under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 applies regardless of where an employee and his or her same-sex spouse reside.

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