Federal Employees File Legal Challenge Against Gender-Affirming Care Policy
Jan, 1 2026
The complaint, submitted by the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of the employees, asserts that the denial of coverage for gender-affirming care is a form of sex-based discrimination. Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, stated that the policy is not merely a financial decision but rather an attempt to marginalize transgender individuals and their families within the federal workforce.
The complaint has been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and includes testimonies from four federal employees from various departments, including the State Department and Health and Human Services, who would be adversely affected by the policy. One example cited involves a Postal Service employee whose daughter has been recommended for puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy due to diagnosed gender dysphoria, treatments that would not be covered under the new policy.
Additionally, the Trump administration has previously implemented measures to restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender individuals, particularly minors. In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed regulations that would prevent Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals providing such care to children. Senior officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have referred to gender-affirming care for minors as 'malpractice,' a stance that contradicts the recommendations of major medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which advocate for gender-affirming treatments as essential healthcare.