BIG TRANSGENDER HEALTH CARE WIN FOR FEDS

You have heard us describe other major employment law victories for federal employees delivered by Gilbert Employment Law (GEL). But this may top them all given that it overturns a Reagan Administration rule that prohibited FEHB plans from covering “[s]ervices, drugs, or supplies related to sex transformations . . . .”  We also wonder whether it opens the door for Rob Shriver, OPM’s Acting Director, to go back and remedy previous abuses of the trans community. 

An individual fed went to the Gilbert firm asking for help given the enormous cost of  transformation care. We suggest that you read the firm’s own description of what happened next.  Click here. EEOC ordered OPM to remove the exclusion for this kind of care.  But that leaves unaddressed the harm done all those feds who had to shoulder the costs of this care in the past.  One way to do that would be for Director Shriver to explore his options for voluntarily reimbursing others who over the years were victimized by a rule born out of hate, fear and the political determination that pushing the federal government into employee sexual lives would be a great way to divide the country and solidify a voter base.

If you know of employees in your bargaining unit who had to cover the costs of their care, you might want to get your union behind an effort to get some action from OPM to correct past financial harm.