A group of federal employees has launched a class action challenge against the Trump Administration’s Office of Personnel Management (OPM), alleging that a new policy stripping health insurance coverage for gender-affirming care constitutes sex discrimination.
The legal action, filed as an initiation of Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) counseling, comes just days after the policy’s implementation. The complaint targets OPM’s “Carrier Letter 2025-01b,” which officially took effect on January 1, 2026.
Under this new directive, the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) programs will no longer cover “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits,” regardless of the patient’s age.
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According to the filing, the plaintiffs argue that the removal of these benefits violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by discriminating on the basis of sex. The group is seeking to represent all federal workers and their dependents who have been, or will be, denied coverage under the 2026 policy.
At the heart of the dispute is the breadth of the exclusion. While OPM’s policy includes a provision for patients currently “mid-treatment” to apply for exceptions, the plaintiffs describe this process as “narrow and opaque.” Several class representatives—employees from the Department of State, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Postal Service—outline in the complaint how the policy jeopardizes their medical care.
One plaintiff, a State Department employee, notes that while their doctors recommend surgery and hormone therapy, the new rule “categorically denies” the coverage. Another employee from the Postal Service cites the impact on their dependent daughter, whose doctors have recommended a puberty blocker implant within the next two years—a procedure now excluded from the plan.
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The complaint seeks an immediate rescission of the policy, retroactive coverage for denied claims, and a declaratory judgment that the exclusion is illegal. The group is also asking for economic damages and mandatory training for OPM administrators regarding EEO laws and transgender rights.
The employees are represented by the law firm Correia and Puth, PLLC, alongside the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. OPM has not yet issued a public comment regarding the specific allegations in the EEO filing.
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