Massachusetts City Offers Stipend To Married Gay Employees

Cambridge, Massachusetts has decided to offer a stipend to married gay workers who face an additional federal income tax that married heterosexual workers do not have to pay.

In the city, 22 public workers have put their spouses on their employer-provided health plan. But since the US doesn’t recognize gay marriage, it sees the value of that coverage as taxable income, the AP reports. That costs those workers some $1,500 to $3,000 yearly.

“Two people who do the exact same job should be paid exactly the same for what they are doing at work,” says a city councilor. Adds another: “This is a city that models what equality really means.”