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ALBANY – A decision last year by a town clerk to reject a marriage license to a same-sex couple due to her religious beliefs has become costly for the small town.

The state Division of Human Rights announced Friday the town of Root, about 45 miles west of Albany, agreed to pay a $20,000 fine to New York after the July 30, 2018, incident.

That fine comes on top of a $25,000 settlement the Montgomery County town reached with the couple earlier this year that included a public apology from Clerk Laurel “Sherrie” Eriksen.

New York legalized same-sex marriage in 2011, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 struck down any state's ban on same-sex marriages.

“The New York State Division of Human Rights works tirelessly to fight the scourge of discrimination based on sexual orientation," the agency's commissioner Angela Fernandez said in a statement.

"Marriage equality is the law of the land and those who deny New Yorkers their fundamental rights will be held fully accountable.”

What the same-sex marriage case in Root was about

On June 24, 2011, Gov. Andrew Cuomo waved to the crowd in the state Senate after it legalized same-sex marriage, making New York at the time the sixth and largest state to do so (Photo: Governor's Office)

Root residents Dylan Toften and Thomas Hurd sought to obtain a marriage license from Eriksen, but even though the couple had the proper documents, Eriksen refused to process their application.

The town attorney Robert Subik said at the time the application was rejected because they didn't make an appointment and because of Eriksen's religious beliefs.

The clerk, Subik said, recommended the men come back when the deputy clerk was available or go somewhere else.

"She has a religious objection and has referred the matter to her deputy clerk, who has no such objection and will issue the license when they make an appointment," Subik told the Daily Gazette in Schenectady at the time.

A day later, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the Division of Human Rights to open an investigation, saying the clerk's decision was an apparent violation of state law, which Cuomo championed in 2011 and shepherded through the state Legislature.

More: Andrew Cuomo says his poll numbers took a hit for same-sex marriage support. They didn't.

What the state found in its investigation of Root

Gay rights advocates celebrated outside the Supreme Court in 2015 after the justices legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. On Tuesday, they will address LGBTQ employment discrimination. (Photo: Jacquelyn Martin, AP)

The agency said Friday its review found the clerk’s office treated the couple differently based on their sexual orientation and determined probable cause that the town violated state law.

The agency said the law "mandates that no application for a marriage license be denied on the grounds that the parties are of the same sex and prohibits government entities from treating individuals seeking to get married differently because of their sexual orientation."

The settlement Friday also requires the town to adopt new non-discriminatory policies "that will ensure that all individuals in the Town have an equal opportunity to obtain a marriage license," the state said.

The town will also need to train its current and future employees on state's Human Rights Law and will be required to post the division’s anti-discrimination poster in town hall.

More: Same-sex marriage in New York: Five years later

Earlier this year, the town paid the settlement to the couple, and Eriksen issued a public apology in April at a town board meeting, saying, according to the Gazette: "I'm sorry for any harm or inconvenience my actions caused the couple. Thank you."

There was no immediate comment from town officials on the recent settlement.

Toften and Hurd said in a statement they appreciated the state's intervention.

"Thank you to Governor Cuomo and the New York State Division of Human Rights for their work on this settlement," they said in a statement provided by the state.

The state agency said the Root settlement is the latest case involving gay discrimination.

In 2014, the agency said it reached a settlement with Victor, Ontario County, after it allegedly denied a spot on a local planning board to an attorney because she was gay.

Also that year, the agency issued an order that found a marriage venue in Rensselaer County in the Albany area had discriminated against a same-sex couple by denying them the opportunity to have their wedding there.

More: Same-sex marriage: NY town clerk rejects license, sparks outcry

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