Federal judge rules that Florida’s transgender health care ban discriminates against state employees
TALLAHASSEE, Florida — A federal judge has ruled that Florida’s ban on health care for transgender people discriminates against state officials and violates their civil rights.
U.S. District Judge Mark Walker ruled Thursday that the state’s ban violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects employees and applicants from discrimination in the workplace based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by three current and former state employees against the Florida Department of Management Services. The employees challenged the denial of medically necessary treatment for their gender dysphoria under the state’s categorical exclusion from coverage for “gender reassignment or modification services or supplies.”
The plaintiffs are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, the ACLU of Florida and Legal Services of Greater Miami.
“We are so grateful that the court is holding the state accountable for its apparently discriminatory policy that singles out transgender state employees for unequal treatment,” attorney Simone Chriss of Southern Legal Counsel said in a statement. “There is no nondiscriminatory reason for the state to categorically deny coverage for safe, effective, medically necessary treatment only when it is needed to treat gender dysphoria, but not for the treatment of any other condition.”
Walker wrote in his ruling that health and retirement benefits are often a critical component of a worker’s compensation, so the practical effect of denying or reducing such benefits on the basis of sex is to deny the worker an employment opportunity based on sex. Walker found that treatment for all medical conditions, including gender dysphoria, should be based on the unique needs of the patient rather than blanket exclusions.
The court will schedule a trial to determine the amount of damages for the plaintiffs.
The Florida Department of Management Services and the governor’s office did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment on the lawsuit.