A retired transgender employee of a county in upstate New York is suing the county for denying him health insurance coverage for his transition-related care.
Sean Simonson, a former case worker for the Oswego Department of Social Services for nearly 30 years, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in February 2015, after which he began taking steps to transition, including legally changing his name. As part of his doctor-recommended treatment for gender dysphoria, Simsonson was to be placed on hormone replacement therapy and receive a double mastectomy.
However, Simonson was denied coverage because of a discriminatory exclusion in his county-provided health insurance plan that prohibits money from being used for treatments like hormones or gender confirmation surgery. Simonson and his doctor appealed to the insurance company, and eventually filed a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The EEOC subsequently issued a determination in June finding reasonable cause to believe that Oswego County and the Oswego Department of Social Services had discriminated against Simonson “due to his sex (transgender status/gender identity) in violation of Title VII.” Lambda Legal, on behalf of Simonson, notified the New York Attorney General’s Civil Rights Bureau, which launched an investigation into the case.
In November, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a settlement with Oswego County to ensure that transgender employees and retirees have access to medically necessary health care coverage through their employer-sponsored health plan. As part of that settlement, Oswego County has agreed to eliminate the exclusion of transition-related care from the health plan, extend a new benefit covering transition-related care for county employees and retirees, and provide annual training for county employees and employees of its benefits administrator concerning the new benefit.
Unfortunately, the agreement does not include compensation for current and former employees who have already been denied coverage under the old policy. As a result, Simonson and his lawyers from Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit to recoup some of the out-of-pocket costs he was forced to bear.
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, alleges that the county’s policy and the resulting denial of insurance coverage constitutes sex discrimination and violates federal and state laws, including the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, a portion of the Affordable Care Act, and New York’s nondiscrimination law.
“For years, Oswego County failed to comply with its legal obligation to treat its transgender employees with dignity and without bias. While Oswego County has finally rescinded its discriminatory policy, it simply is not enough to make up for the years of suffering Sean endured and the thousands of dollars he paid out-of-pocket from retirement savings because the County discriminated against him,” Omar Gonzalez-Pagan, a staff attorney and health care strategist at Lambda Legal said in a statement. “Oswego County needs to acknowledge and remedy the damage that has been done.
“Everyone should have access to health insurance that makes medical care affordable and accessible, especially when it has been promised as part of our employment compensation,” Gonzalez-Pagan added. “Unfortunately, transgender employees of Oswego County have been denied this right and instead been consigned to second-class-citizen status. Through this case we look to make it clear that such discriminatory treatment has consequences and can’t be tolerated.”
Ahead of Transgender Day of Remembrance on Thursday, November 20, Advocates for Trans Equality, a national organization, released a report honoring the 58 known transgender people who have died in the United States over the past year.
First held in 1999, Transgender Day of Remembrance was initially intended to mourn those transgender people lost to violence. The first organizers memorialized Rita Hester, killed in November 1998 in Boston, and Chanelle Pickett, murdered in November 1995 in Watertown, Mass.
Since that first memorial service, cities and regions throughout the world have adopted November 20 as a day to commemorate transgender and nonbinary individuals who have died -- whether due to murder, suicide, or natural causes.
Lucien Bates, a transgender man, says security guards threatened to arrest him after he used the women’s restroom at a Round1 arcade inside the North Riverside Park Mall in suburban Chicago. Bates, an Indiana resident, was visiting the venue on September 28 with his fiancé and a friend to play Dance Dance Revolution.
Bates, who presents as alt-masculine with facial hair and piercings, had just arrived at the arcade when he needed to use the restroom. He chose the women’s restroom, a decision he often makes in public because he feels safer there and is less likely to be harassed.
The Trump administration is working to bring a transgender woman back to the United States after immigration officials wrongly deported her in violation of a federal judge's order.
Britania Uriostegui Rios, a Mexican transgender woman who came to the U.S. in 2003 and later became a lawful permanent resident, lost that status in 2023 after pleading guilty to felony assault with a deadly weapon, according to The Guardian.
She received a suspended sentence for the assault conviction, then was sent to a men's immigration detention facility as officials prepared to deport her to Mexico.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.