Five federal workers filed a proposed class-action lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration, alleging that a federal health insurance policy excluding gender-affirming care violates federal employment discrimination law.

The complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges an Office of Personnel Management (OPM) directive. The directive requires carriers in federal and postal employee health programs to exclude certain procedures when used for gender transition. OPM issued the directive in August 2025, and the exclusion took effect on the 1st of January 2026.

The plaintiffs claim the policy violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits sex discrimination in federal employment. They argue that insurers may cover hormone therapy, hysterectomies, and facial surgeries for other medical purposes. However, insurers may deny the same procedures when they are used as gender-affirming care.

“This exclusion targets gender-affirming care and thereby singles out current and former employees who are transgender or gender non-conforming,” the complaint states.

The five anonymous plaintiffs include employees seeking care for themselves and employees seeking coverage for transgender family members. According to the complaint, some have paid hundreds or thousands of dollars out of pocket. Others have considered using their savings, delayed procedures, or faced the possibility of discontinuing ongoing treatment because of the exclusion.

A July report from the Williams Institute, a UCLA School of Law research center, estimated that between 39,400 and 57,800 transgender people receive federal employee health coverage. The plaintiffs seek to represent federal and postal employees denied coverage for their own or a dependent’s gender-affirming care.

The legal challenge relies partly on the US Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. The court held that an employer violates Title VII by firing an employee for being gay or transgender. The plaintiffs argue that the prohibition also applies to discriminatory health insurance coverage because employee benefits are a condition of employment.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled 2-1 in March that an earlier OPM policy allowing insurers to restrict some gender-transition procedures did not violate federal discrimination law. The commission cited the Supreme Court’s 2025 decision in United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld Tennessee restrictions on gender-affirming care for minors. OPM said the decision affirmed its authority to establish coverage standards and protect taxpayer resources. The new lawsuit challenges the broader policy requiring federal health plans to exclude the treatments.

The plaintiffs are represented by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the law firms Correia & Puth and Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll. The case, Doe v. Kupor, is pending in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. OPM had not publicly responded as of Monday, and the government has not yet filed a response. The plaintiffs are seeking class certification and a court order blocking enforcement of the coverage exclusion.

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