In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) is unconstitutional.  Section 3 of DOMA limited the definition of “spouse” to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife.  That restriction is no more.  The Supreme Court found that “DOMA’s principal effect is to identify a subset of state-sanctioned marriages and make them unequal” both in responsibilities and rights under the law.  Whereas the same-sex couple was married for state law, they were unmarried for federal law.  Accordingly, DOMA’s definition of “spouse” was unconstitutional. How could the Windsor decision affect Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”) claims?  Most notably, Section 9 death benefits are likely available for the surviving same-sex spouse of a legally binding marriage. The LHWCA defines “widow or widower” to include “only the decedent’s wife or husband living with or dependent forRead more