Lesbian Appointed to
Federal-Level Counsel Post

Out lesbian attorney Elaine Kaplan was appointed as general counsel of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on Tuesday. An official announcement from the White House is due shortly.

Kaplan began her legal career in the solicitor's office of the Department of Labor, first in the employee benefits division, and later in the division of special appellate and Supreme Court litigation, according to a statement by OPM.

Most recently, she served as senior deputy general counsel for the National Treasury Employees Union, which represents more than 150,000 federal employees nationwide. In this position and during her initial tenure with NTEU from 1984 to 1998, she litigated and supervised the litigation of cases at all levels of the federal court system.

Kaplan joined other federal workers to confront then-incoming Bush administration appointee Scott Bloch, who succeeded her in the Office of Special Counsel. According to the Washington Blade, Kaplan argued publicly with Bloch, who held that existing civil service laws did not protect gays against job discrimination.

Kaplan will work under John Berry, the incoming director of OPM, who is also openly gay. Berry's nomination awaits Senate confirmation.