US: Man sues pizza chain for failing to provide his husband with health care benefits
A man from the US state of California is suing his former employer, a pizza chain, because it allegedly did not provide his husband with health care benefits.
47-year-old Frank Bernard filed his lawsuit in the Superior Court in Orange County.
It alleged that he and his husband, and other legally married couples, were denied health care benefits by Little Caesars pizza chain.
“I didn’t want anything special,” he told Reuters. “I just wanted the same benefits package as heterosexual couples.”
Named in the lawsuit are the pizza chain itself, as well as its parent company Ilitch Holdings.
According to reports, the pizza shop’s policy defines the term “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 worked at Little Caesars for six years, and is seeking unspecified damages, as well as a court order to ensure the chain treats all couples equally.
