Tallahassee, Florida — A federal court has ruled that Florida’s transgender medical treatment ban discriminatory against state employees and violates their civil rights.
Chief 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 job applicants from employment discrimination on the basis of 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 state’s blanket exclusion from coverage for “gender reassignment or change services or supplies” that led to them being denied medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria.
The plaintiffs are represented by Southern Legal Counsel, the ACLU of Florida and Greater Miami Legal Services.
“We are grateful for the court’s decision to hold the state accountable for a facially discriminatory policy that subjects transgender public employees to unequal treatment,” Simone Kris, an attorney with Southern Legal Counsel, said in a statement. “There is no non-discriminatory reason for the state to blanketly deny coverage for safe, effective and medically necessary treatments only when needed to treat gender dysphoria, but not for other conditions.”
In his decision, Judge Walker wrote that because health insurance and pension benefits are often important components of an employee’s compensation, denying or reducing those benefits because of a person’s sex is tantamount to denying an employee employment opportunity because of their sex. Judge Walker held that treatment for all medical conditions, including gender dysphoria, should be based on the patient’s specific needs, rather than on blanket exclusions.
The court will schedule a trial to determine plaintiffs’ damages.
The Florida Department of Management Services and the governor’s office did not immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press seeking comment on the lawsuit.
