The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has taken the next step in its lawsuit over the denial of gender-affirming care benefits to federal employees, filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The complaint filed Tuesday alleges that the denial of coverage violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits sex discrimination in employment, including terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020: Bostock v. Clayton County Discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity falls within the definition of sex discrimination.
Related: Lawmakers demand EEOC address gender identity discrimination
The Foundation, a division of HRC, and the law firms Correia & Puth and Cohen, Milstein, Sellers & Toll filed the complaint on behalf of the federal employees. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management sent a letter to insurance companies last year saying that as of 2026, “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sexual characteristics through medical intervention (including ‘sex reassignment’ services)” will no longer be covered by the Federal Employees Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits programs. There are a few exceptions for people undergoing treatment.
HRC Foundation and the law firm filed a complaint with OPM last month, but OPM had 30 days to respond before filing a complaint with the EEOC. That didn’t resolve the issue, so the lawyers filed a complaint with the EEOC. The EEOC currently requires attorneys to resolve the matter within 180 days before filing a lawsuit in federal court. They are seeking class action status for the case, meaning any ruling would apply to all affected federal employees and dependents. An administrative judge could decide in the coming months whether the matter can proceed on a class-by-class basis.
The EEOC under President Donald Trump has already proven to be unfriendly toward transgender and non-binary people. EEOC Chair Andrea Lucas, who was appointed by President Trump in 2020 and named chair by the president last year, said the EEOC will not advocate for transgender or non-binary people under her watch, in accordance with Trump’s “Two Gender” executive order.
In January, the agency withdrew LGBTQ-inclusive guidance on what workplace harassment looks like and how to combat it. Lucas’s vision is narrow. bostock It argued that the decision only applied to hiring and firing, not the workplace environment. The EEOC is supposed to have five commissioners, but it currently only has three. President Trump fired two Democratic committee members, giving Republicans a 2-1 majority.
Related: Lawsuit challenges EEOC’s failure to investigate anti-transgender discrimination
The HRC Foundation and its partners say they are committed to fighting the ban on gender-affirming care. “The Trump administration is weaponizing health care to force transgender public servants and their families out of their jobs and back into the closet,” HRC Foundation President Kelly Robinson said in a statement. press release. “This policy is textbook discrimination, and we will continue to pursue this case until federal employees and their families receive the respect, consideration, and dignity they deserve.”
Cathy Harris of Correia & Puth added, “The federal government should be a model employer, ensuring that federal employees are free from prohibited personnel practices.” “Rather, OPM’s policy prohibiting health care for transgender employees is direct evidence of discrimination, plain and simple.”
Source: Advocate.com – www.advocate.com
