In a move with potentially significant implications for entities subject to the Affordable Care Act, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reversed course and now contends that Section 1557 of the Affordable...more
On January 28, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order restricting access to gender affirming care for individuals under the age of nineteen (the Executive Order). Within two weeks of its issuance, two federal courts...more
Across the United States, there is a trend of state legislatures passing laws that restrict, or even outright prohibit, transgender minors from access to gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers, hormone therapy,...more
held that a governmental employer’s health plan violated Title VII by applying an exclusion for services and supplies associated with gender reassignment surgery. The Court relied on the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v....more
Our April 9 blog post highlighted several issues to watch during 2024, one of which was gender-affirming care considerations. Just over a month later, there have now been three key developments with respect to that issue:...more
By way of background, in May 2023, the Texas Legislature passed Senate Bill No. 14 (SB 14), which prohibits physicians and other licensed medical professionals from providing gender-affirming medical care to minors. Almost...more
America’s cultural wars may be opening up a new front, and group health plans may be caught in the fray. Since the US Supreme Court decision in Dobbs ended almost fifty years of constitutional protection for abortion rights...more
The October 6 decision in RSK v. DLK is non-precedential but still important because of the subject. The parties are parents of four children and have been divorced for a decade. One of those children KK was born as female...more
In recent years, courts have ruled upon a growing number of cases arising from delivery of and payment for gender affirming care. At the same time, state legislatures have passed a variety of laws aimed at such services. ...more
On June 30, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States declined to weigh in on whether gender dysphoria can qualify as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), allowing to stand the Fourth Circuit’s...more
As transgender employees become more comfortable living openly as their authentic selves in the workplace, employers should be prepared to work with transitioning employees. Consider putting a plan in place that fosters an...more
For those not lawyers, the UCCJEA is a ridiculously long acronym for standardized custody laws that are supposed to be uniform across the United States. Every state has its own custody laws, but back in the 1960s the legal...more
This is a G-rated post. PG at worst. Toronto-area shop teacher Kayla Lemieux -- you know, the one with the famous Z-cup breasts -- has been placed on a leave of absence now that the New York Post has reported that she is...more
As we have seen in just the past few weeks of the new year, laws are rapidly changing for employers. Following our Employment Law Update webinars provided to Private Sector and Non-Profit Employers, and Public Entity...more
In recent years, the legal rights of transgender students have been litigated in courts around the country. While court decisions have provided some guidance for school districts, many questions remain. This article addresses...more
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently held in Williams v. Kincaid that individuals with gender dysphoria may be protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act...more
Changing Retail Staffing Models – Unforeseen Risks in a New Economy- Events related to the COVID-19 pandemic may have caused roles within retail operations to shift, and managers may have been required to do more when...more
Employers are facing increasing - and conflicting - pressures over health plan coverage of puberty-blocking medications used to treat some minors for gender dysphoria. Several states have restricted the use of...more
The subject of transgender Americans has been raised a lot recently, sometimes in political contexts, but regardless of the politics, it is important for employers to understand their obligations with respect to transgender...more
The NLRB Proposes to Re-Re-Revise Its Joint Employer Standard - On September 6, 2022, the National Labor Relations Board issued a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the standard for determining joint employer status...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (covering Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Maryland) held that gender dysphoria, a condition experienced by some transgender individuals, is a protected...more
Recently, the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals issued a decision that expanded protections under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to people with gender dysphoria....more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
A federal appeals court this week ruled that “gender dysphoria” qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). This decision will give broader protection to transgender and other individuals...more