Trump sued over denial of gender-affirming care to federal employees

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has filed a class action complaint against the Trump administration on behalf of federal employees who will be denied gender-affirming health care for themselves and their families.

The complaint was filed Thursday with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. It concerns changes to the Federal Employee Health Benefits program and the Postal Service Health Benefits program that went into effect with the beginning of the year.

Related: Federal HR office sets deadline for government-wide purge of transgender and nonbinary inclusion

OPM sent a letter to insurance carriers last year saying that as of 2026, “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions (to include ‘gender transition”’ services) will no longer be covered under the FEHB or PSHB Programs.” There is a narrow exception for people who are mid-treatment.

“This policy plainly discriminates on the basis of sex against federal employees who seek to obtain coverage under their FEHB or PSHB insurance plans for gender-affirming care, either for themselves or for their dependents who are covered under the plans,” says the complaint filed with OPM. It violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans sex discrimination in employment, the complaint states. In the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling in 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court found that sex discrimination under Title VII includes discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. The complaint includes statements from four plan participants who will be affected by the changes.

Related: Donald Trump’s government declares that transgender and nonbinary people don’t exist

“Untold numbers of federal employees and their families will be left out to dry at the hands of a shameless administration hell-bent on targeting the transgender community,” HRC Foundation President Kelley Robinson said in a press release. “This policy is not about cost or care — it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce. These federal employees will now be forced into an impossible situation that pits them between their jobs and access to the care they need. That is discrimination, plain and simple, and the HRC Foundation refuses to let it stand without a fight. Our litigation seeks to honor those federal workers and preserve the rights, respect, and dignity they deserve.”

In addition to the foundation — an arm of the Human Rights Campaign — the employees are represented by the law firm of Correia and Puth. “No federal employee should be discriminated against in health care or otherwise. The law protects them,” Cathy Harris of Correia and Puth said in the press release.

The complaint seeks an end to the policy excluding gender-affirming care, a permanent injunction against such an exclusion, retroactive coverage for care that was denied, payment of economic and compensatory damages, and any other appropriate relief.

If OPM does not respond to the complaint within 30 days, the lawyers will file a formal complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They then have 180 days to wait until filing a federal court case.