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    • LABOR—5th Cir.: Court affirms injunctions against ULP proceedings pending constitutional challenges to NLRB structure
    • BENEFITS NEWS—Federal workers’ benefits will no longer include gender-affirming care
    • CLASS ACTIONS—M.D. Fla.: Class certification denied in suit over allegedly deficient COBRA notice
    • DISCRIMINATION—RELIGIOUS—8th Cir.: Jail administrator, fired over anti-Muslim online treatise, gets Title VII suit reinstated
    • EEOC NEWS—$5K recovered for race discrimination; new lawsuit alleges violation of conciliation agreement
    • EVIDENCE, DISCOVERY—S.D. Tex.: Health company employee seeks $300M emotional distress damages
    • EXPERT INSIGHTS—Post-mortem on the FTC's blocked non-compete rule
    • EXPERT INSIGHTS—Rise In E-Verify desk audits: What U.S. employers need to know in 2025
    • LABOR—ARBITRATION—University police officer’s discharge upheld for false reports and excessive force
    • LABOR—UNIONS, UNION MEMBERS—D.C. Cir.: Union candidate loses bid for new trial concerning alleged retaliation for protected speech
    • ON THE LABOR FRONT—Union Salts and the ‘Genuine Interest’ Requirement
    • PROCEDURE—E.D. Pa.: Court vacates ACA’s religious and moral rules
    • REMEDIES, DAMAGES—9th Cir.: Preliminary injunction largely denied in case concerning religious youth group funding
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    Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, BENEFITS NEWS—Federal workers’ benefits will no longer include gender-affirming care, (Aug 20, 2025)

    By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

    “As an exception,” the OPM letter states, “counseling services for possible or diagnosed gender dysphoria must still be covered. Covered counseling services must be provided by a licensed mental health provider and may include th ...

    By Brandi O. Brown, J.D.

    “As an exception,” the OPM letter states, “counseling services for possible or diagnosed gender dysphoria must still be covered. Covered counseling services must be provided by a licensed mental health provider and may include those who provide faith-based counseling.”

    In a new letter, OPM has informed FEHB and PSHB carriers that, “[f]or Plan Year 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.”

    No age exclusions. This new exclusion applies regardless of age. (Previously, under Letter Number 2025-01A, which is an addendum to Letter Number 2025-1 issued on January 15, 2025, for individuals 19 years old or above, carriers could propose to cover, but were not required to cover, transgender surgeries or hormone treatments for the purpose of gender transition).

    This letter is a second addendum to Letter 2025-1 and supplemental guidance for Carrier Letter 2025-05.

    Counseling “exception.” The letter also states that, “As an exception, counseling services for possible or diagnosed gender dysphoria must still be covered. Covered counseling services must be provided by a licensed mental health provider and may include those who provide faith-based counseling.”

    Regarding enrolled employees who are mid-treatment, carriers are told to establish an exceptions process to be applied on a case-by-case basis.

    Not pharmaceutical-based. The letter also instructs that the exclusion “only pertains to chemical and surgical modification of an individual's sex traits (including as part of ‘gender transition’ services)” and that “[c]arriers should not exclude coverage for entire classes of pharmaceuticals,” such as ones that are prescribed for IVF, endometriosis or fibroids, or cancer treatments or prevention.

    “Provider directories must not list or otherwise recognize providers for the purposes of providing chemical and surgical modification of an individual's sex traits,” the letter adds.

    Lambda Legal exploring options. Lambda Legal has responded to the change, arguing that the policy violates constitutional protections as well as multiple federal anti-discrimination laws. “This discriminatory policy denying medical care to government employees and their dependents is not only cruel—it is illegal,” said Lambda Legal Counsel and Health Care Strategist Omar Gonzalez-Pagan. “We will not stand by while the federal government tramples on the civil rights of hardworking transgender public servants,” Gonzalez-Pagan added. “Lambda Legal is exploring all options to respond to this discriminatory policy and protect the rights of transgender Americans, including those serving our country.”

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