A gay former manager has slapped Little Caesars, the 3rd largest pizza chain in the U.S., with a lawsuit for denying health benefits to the legal same-sex spouses of employees, a violation of California law.
Frank Bernard, 47, says he quit his job after Little Caesars refused to extend coverage to his husband of six years. "I didn't want anything special, I just wanted the same benefits package as heterosexual couples," Bernard said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
He cites a letter Little Caesars presented to him explaining a benefits policy that defined "spouse" as "the one person to whom you are legally married under the laws of the state in which you reside, including common law spouse, and who is the opposite gender from you."
Bernard's lawyer, Gloria Allred, says she hopes this case will "[expand] the employment rights and benefits for legally married same-sex couples." Employment benefits provided by private companies are not covered under the Supreme Court's landmark 2013 Windsor decision.