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Over the years, Mr. Coleman has appeared on national television broadcasts to discuss discrimination against single people, unmarried couples, and nonmarital families. He has been a guest on ABC Nightline, the Today Show, and the O’Riley Report. He has also been interviewed on national news programs, such as CBS Evening News, ABC World News, and CNN News. Mr. Coleman has been quoted as a legal expert on the topics of singles rights and family diversity by journalists writing for dozens of major publications such as the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek Magazine, Pittsburgh Post, Chicago Tribune, Detroit News, and the Philadelphia Inquirer. For the past several years, Mr. Coleman has worked for Unmarried America and its parent corporation Spectrum Institute. As the founding Executive Director of Spectrum Institute and its various divisions, he has directed all education and advocacy efforts of the organization to promote equal rights and fairness for unmarried and single Americans. He is the website and newsletter editor, as well as its director of research. All media outreach and legal advocacy efforts are conducted under his direction. Mr. Coleman’s prior experience in education and advocacy has involved him with all branches and levels of government, as well as with many private-sector organizations. The following is a sample of the contributions he has made, though Spectrum Institute and its membership division, Unmarried America, to advance the rights of unmarried individuals, couples, and families. In January 2000, Mr. Coleman testified before the House Judiciary Committee of the Vermont Legislature. He was invited by the committee to testify as an expert on domestic partnership family diversity, and marital status discrimination. The hearing focused on legislative options in response to Baker v. State, a decision by the Vermont Supreme Court which concluded that it was unconstitutional for the state to deny same-sex couples the benefits and protections of marriage. The committee wanted to explore the option of passing a comprehensive domestic partnership act. The committee voted the following month to present a domestic partnership bill, called a "civil union" law, to the full House of Representatives. That law was passed by the legislature and signed into law in May 2000. Several of the provisions of the new law were adapted from Mr. Coleman's testimony. In 1999, Mr. Coleman was invited by a member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners to testify before the Commission as to why it should adopt a gender-neutral domestic partnership benefits program. Cook County is located in Illinois. He testified before the California Legislature at the request of Senator Tom Hayden on the financial aspects of SB 118, a bill to grant extended family leave to workers if their domestic partner were to become seriously ill. He also testified before the House Judiciary Committee of the Michigan Legislature in his capacity of national coordinator of Singles Rights Lobby, the legislative advocacy affiliate of the American Association for Single People. Coleman's testimony convinced the committee to table a bill which would have removed unmarried couples from the protections afforded them under the marital status provision of the Elliott Larsen Civil Rights Act. Coleman acted as advisory counsel in cases in Federal District Court challenging the exclusion of heterosexual couples from domestic partner benefits programs. Cleaves v. Chicago was filed in Illinois and Foray v. Bell Atlantic was filed in New York. He also participated on a panel on marital status discrimination at the American Bar Association mid-year meeting in Beverly Hills and on a domestic partnership panel at a conference sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Oakland. Coleman assisted Equality Florida in drafting a domestic partnership bill which is currently pending in the Florida Legislature. In 1998, Mr. Coleman was successful in convincing two California cities, Santa Barbara and Oakland, to discontinue a gender restriction in their same-sex domestic partnership benefits programs, and to open the plans up to all domestic partners regardless of gender. He was also consulted by the Detroit city council which accepted his advice and passed the most inclusive "extended family" employee benefits program of any municipality in the nation. The plan allows each employee to choose one adult household member to receive benefits: either a spouse, a domestic partner of either sex, or a dependent blood relative. In 1997, Mr. Coleman was invited to testify as an expert witness before the California Assembly Judiciary Committee and the Senate Insurance Committee on domestic partner benefits. He also conducted an informational briefing for the Philadelphia City Council on legislative options for protecting domestic partners. In 1997, Mr. Coleman was invited by the Self-Insurance Institute of America to conduct a seminar on domestic partnership benefits for 130 insurance company executives who came to Indianapolis from all parts of the nation. In 1996, he conducted a similar seminar for the National Employee Benefits and Worker’s Compensation Institute at a national conference in Anaheim. In 1996, Mr. Coleman drafted a comprehensive domestic partnership act at the request of the Chairperson of the Hawaii Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law. The draft was the basis for a bill (SB 3113) passed that year by the Hawaii Senate. The Senate Judiciary Committee invited Mr. Coleman to testify as an expert on legal issues involved in domestic partnership legislation. He was consulted by legislative leaders again in 1997. Over the years, Mr. Coleman has represented clients and has filed amicus curiae briefs in numerous test cases before various courts. In 1998, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the state civil rights law prohibiting marital status discrimination protected unmarried couples from housing bias. The court rejected a landlord’s argument that he should be exempt from the fair housing law because of his religious beliefs against unmarried cohabitation. Mr. Coleman filed an amicus curiae brief in the case on behalf of AASP. In 1998, Mr. Coleman filed a brief on behalf of AASP in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The brief argued that the City of Chicago engaged in illegal sex discrimination in violation of federal civil rights laws when it adopted an ordinance to grant employment benefits only to same-sex unmarried couples. The lawsuit, which was filed by a former Chicago police officer after he was denied bereavement leave when the father of his female domestic partner died, is pending. In 1996, Mr. Coleman won a victory for tenants when the California Supreme Court refused to give a landlord a "religious" exemption from state civil rights laws prohibiting marital status discrimination. He filed a brief in a similar case in the Illinois Court of Appeals. He was consulted by government attorneys fighting housing discrimination against unmarried couples in Alaska and Massachusetts. In 1995, Mr. Coleman filed an amicus curiae brief in the Alaska Supreme Court in a case involving marital status discrimination in employment. In 1997, the court ruled that it was illegal for the state to refuse to provide health benefits to domestic partners of university employees. In 1994, Mr. Coleman filed an amicus curiae brief in the Georgia Supreme Court on behalf of a local union representing employees of the City of Atlanta. The brief defended the reasonableness and legality of two domestic partnership ordinances enacted by the city. In March 1995, the Supreme Court by a 5 to 2 vote upheld the registry for domestic partners. In 1997, the Supreme Court upheld the city’s health benefits plan for domestic partners. In 1994, Mr. Coleman filed an amicus curiae brief in the Michigan Supreme Court seeking to invalidate the "gross indecency" statute as unconstitutionally vague and an infringement on the right of privacy of consenting adults. The court redefined the statute to apply to public sexual conduct, sex by force, and sex with minors. However, it sidestepped the issue of consenting adult sex in private. In 1993, Mr. Coleman won a major victory for employees in the California Court of Appeal. In Delaney v. Superior Fast Freight, the appellate court ruled that private employers are prohibited from discriminating against employees or applicants on the basis of sexual orientation. In 1989, Mr. Coleman filed an amicus curiae brief in the landmark case of Braschi v. Stahl Associates (1989) 74 N.Y. 201. The New York Court of Appeals (the state's highest court) ruled the term "family" was not necessarily limited to relationships based on blood, marriage, or adoption. The court concluded that unmarried partners who live together on a long-term basis may be considered a family in some legal contexts. The Braschi decision has been cited as precedent in numerous lawsuits by workers who have been denied employment benefits for their unmarried partners. Mr. Coleman has also participated in both government and privately-sponsored policy studies dealing with the right of personal privacy, freedom from violence, family diversity, and discrimination on the basis of marital status and sexual orientation. In 1994, Mr. Coleman was selected by the American Association of Retired People to serve on a round table focusing on nontraditional households. This resulted in a report by AARP in 1995 entitled "The Real Golden Girls: The Prevalence and Policy Treatment of Midlife and Older people Living in Nontraditional Households." In 1993, Mr. Coleman wrote a report for California Insurance Commissioner's Anti-Discrimination Task Force. It proposed ways to end discrimination against unmarried insurance consumers. In 1991, Mr. Coleman was consulted by the Bureau of National Affairs for its special report series on Work & Family. He provided demographics and background information for Special Report #38, "Recognizing Non-Traditional Families." In 1990, Mr. Coleman worked with the Secretary of State to implement a system in which family associations may register with the State of California. Registrations systems like this have been used by companies for employee benefit programs that provide coverage to employees with domestic partners. This novel system was cited by Hewitt Associates in a research paper entitled "Domestic Partners and Employee Benefits." Hundreds of same-sex and opposite couples (many with children) have registered under this de-facto family registration system. In 1989, the City of West Hollywood retained Mr. Coleman as a consultant on domestic partnership issues. He advised the city council on how the city could strengthen its ordinance protecting domestic partners from discrimination. In 1989, Mr. Coleman conducted a seminar for faculty and staff at the University of Southern California on "Employee Benefits and the Changing Family." In 1989, the Los Angeles City Attorney appointed Mr. Coleman to serve as chairperson of the Consumer Task Force on Marital Status Discrimination. The task force issued its final report in May 1990. The report documented widespread discrimination by businesses on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status. It made numerous recommendations to eliminate discriminatory practices. Many have been implemented. From 1987 to 1990, Mr. Coleman served as a member of the California Legislature's Joint Select Task Force on the Changing Family. After many public hearings and ongoing research, the task force issued a series of reports to the Legislature. One aspect of the study involved work-and-family issues. The Task Force recommended ways to eliminate discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and marital status from employee benefits programs. Other recommendations were made to eliminate discrimination against domestic partners. A bill to establish a domestic partner registry with the Secretary of State and to give limited benefits to domestic partners was passed by the Legislature in 1994 but subsequently vetoed by the Governor. A similar bill (AB 54) has been reintroduced. In 1986, Mr. Coleman became a special consultant to the Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity. After two years of research and public hearings, the task force issued its final report in May 1988. Major portions of the report focused on sexual orientation and marital status discrimination in employment, housing, and insurance. For several years, Mr. Coleman worked with city council members, the city administrative officer, the city attorney, the personnel department and several unions to develop a system granting sick leave and bereavement leave to a city employee if his or her unmarried partner were to become ill or die. In 1994, the city council voted to extend health and dental benefits to all city employees who have domestic partners. In 1985, Mr. Coleman became an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California Law Center. For several years he taught a class on "Rights of Domestic Partners." The class focused on constitutional issues, court cases, and statutes that either discriminate against unmarried couples or provide them with protection from discrimination. In 1981, Mr. Coleman was appointed to serve as Executive Director of the Governor's Commission on Personal Privacy. After two years of public hearings and research, the Commission issued its final report to the Governor and the Legislature. Much of the report focused on the privacy rights of seniors, people with disabilities, unmarried couples, and gays and lesbians. Mr. Coleman was the author of the final report of the Privacy Commission. In 1979, Mr. Coleman convinced the California Supreme Court to protect the First Amendment right of one adult to ask another to engage in private sexual conduct, without fear of arrest under the sexual solicitation law. In 1979, Mr. Coleman was consulted by the legal affairs secretary to the Governor of California on the wording for an executive order banning sexual orientation discrimination in state employment. From 1975 to 1979, Mr. Coleman published and edited the Sexual Law Reporter, a legal periodical analyzing court cases, legislation, and legal developments involving a broad range of human sexual behavior. During those years, he was also co-chair of the National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties, a national think-tank of scholars and practitioners from a wide variety of disciplines. In 1972, as a representative to the American Bar Association, Law Student Division, Mr. Coleman convinced that body to adopt the "Single Person's Bill of Rights," a resolution which he authored. It called for passage of civil rights laws prohibiting marital status discrimination in employment and housing. Mr. Coleman graduated, cum laude, from Loyola University of Los Angeles School of Law in 1973. He received his bachelor of arts degree from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1970. ○○○
Thomas F. Coleman is
currently licensed as a real estate sales agent in California
and is a Realtor with Bob Taylor Properties, Inc. in Los
Angeles. |
Thomas F. Coleman
was first licensed as an attorney in 1973. Since then, he has
become a national authority on marital status
discrimination, singles’ rights, family diversity, and
domestic partnership issues -- focusing on economic, legal,
political, and social aspects of these issues.