Having one's state recognize same-sex marriages isn't necessarily making same-sex couples' lives any easier. Some Connecticut couples who work for Yale University are finding this out the hard way.

Sixty-one employees in same-sex marriages received a letter around Christmas informing them that the university's payroll department "made a mistake." It applied allowed tax deductions for married couples to both state, and federal taxes of all married employees. Unfortunately, since federal law doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, that means those couples owe back taxes to the federal government—for all of 2010.

Yale told employees the university would pay for its mistake so employees don't have to deal with it ... and then deduct the amount owed in even amounts from January through March 2011 from employees' paychecks. An “employee who did not want to be publicly identified criticizing the university” told The New York Times that for some people, this repayment will decrease what they bring home by as much as 33 percent.

“We understand that for some employees the 90-day time frame for repayment may cause financial hardship. For those employees, greater repayment flexibility will be provided on an individual basis,” said a spokesperson from Yale.

Gee ... How kind of them. Way to own it, Yale.