Court Certifies Lambda Legal Arizona Benefits Case as Class Action: Lawsuit Now Covers All Lesbian and Gay State Employees

Yesterday, the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona certified as a class action Lambda Legal's lawsuit on behalf of lesbian and gay Arizona state employees fighting a move by the Arizona Legislature to eliminate health care coverage for their families.

Tara Borelli, Lambda Legal Staff Attorney, said:

We are pleased that the Court has certified this case as a class action, and appreciate that the State of Arizona supported this petition. With this certification, all lesbian and gay state employees who are currently or will become eligible for family health coverage for a committed same-sex partner or their partner's dependents have become part of the fight against the State's discriminatory effort to strip them of their vital family health insurance coverage.

Lambda Legal represents five lesbian and gay state employees - including from the State Department of Game and Fish and state universities - who are challenging a move by the Arizona Legislature to eliminate the equal health care coverage that they rely on to safeguard their families' health.

Read the order. 

Read the press release.