Trump admin denial of gender-affirming care to federal employees is unlawful...

[Jessica_Rose ✅]

Trump administration's denial of gender-affirming care to federal employees is unlawful, says LGBTQ+ group

https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/eeoc-complaint-transgender-care-denial 🔗

Trudy Ring (4 Feb 2026)

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation has taken the next step in litigation over denial of gender-affirming care coverage to federal employees by filing a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The complaint, filed Tuesday, asserts that the denial of this coverage violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII forbids sex discrimination in employment, including the terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The Supreme Court ruled in 2020 in Bostock v. Clayton County that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity falls under the definition of sex discrimination.

The foundation, an arm of HRC, and the law firms Correia & Puth and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll filed the complaint on behalf of federal workers. Last year, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management 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)" would no longer be covered under the Federal Employee Health Benefits and Postal Service Health Benefits plans. There is a narrow exception for people who are mid-treatment.

The HRC Foundation and the law firms filed a complaint with OPM last month, and OPM had 30 days to respond before they could file a complaint with the EEOC. That did not resolve the issue, so the lawyers filed the EEOC complaint. The EEOC now has 180 days to resolve it before the lawyers take the case to federal court. They are seeking class action status in the case, which means any ruling would apply to all federal workers and dependents who are affected.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Something similar happened with the VA.

In 2021, Secretary of Veterans Affairs McDonough promised that gender affirming surgery would be covered by the VA.

November 20, 2023. TAVA (Transgender American Veterans Association) warned the VA that if it did not grant or deny TAVA's petition within 30 days, TAVA would file suit. The VA responded with a letter that recycled the same language it has been using since 2021, affirming its plan to provide gender-confirmation surgery someday—but declining to decide the petition.
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/60ca5c1d8354e46a09f082d1/t/65b2a4e682907636844c7d43/1706206438860/2024.01.25+Final+Press+Release.pdf 🔗

The VA remained silent. On January 25, 2024, TAVA filed suit in federal court to force a decision. The VA responded with, "The decision is no."

TAVA returned to court, filing a suit alleging discrimination. The VA provides similar surgeries to non-transgender veterans for other reasons. The only people excluded from receiving surgeries are transgender veterans.

And here we are, two years later... <cricket sounds>

The EEOC was weaponized by the Trump Administration, so I have my doubts about how far this lawsuit will carry.

Last month, an interesting article was published on the topic:

The Trump Administration is Weaponizing the EEOC to Attack Civil Rights
Tanya Goldman | Jan 7, 2026

https://nationalpartnership.org/trump-administration-weaponizing-eeoc-to-attack-civil-rights/ 🔗