Lambda Legal Sues Employee Retirement System of Texas for Denying Health Coverage for Wife of UNT Administrator

“Deborah Leliaert and Paula Woolworth are at a point in their lives where they shouldn’t be forced to worry about how they might pay for unanticipated health expenses. Deborah has been a loyal and dedicated employee of the University of North Texas, rising to the position of Vice President for University Relations and Planning. It is demeaning to be forced to purchase a less-robust high-deductible policy for her wife when she knows her similarly situated colleagues with different-sex spouses face no such choice. Perhaps the U.S. Supreme Court in its highly anticipated ruling on state marriage bans expected later this month will force ERS’s hand, but one would think ERS would like to be on the side of justice and equality. It is difficult to reconcile the fact that numerous Texas county and city retirement and benefits plans have seen fit to treat all employees fairly, yet ERS, which is charged with administering public employee benefit programs to one of the largest group of state employees, refuses to do so. This not only violates the U.S. Constitution, but also may ignore the requirements imposed on state institutions in conjunction with receipt of federal funding."

Deborah Leliaert has been an employee of the University of North Texas in Denton for nearly 24 years, currently serving as Vice President for University Relations and Planning. Her wife, Paula Woolworth, worked for many years in the risk management and managed health care industry, including 15 years for a Fortune 500 company. She retired in 2011 and moved into volunteer service. She is currently in her second term as Alderman for the Town of Shady Shores Town Council, serves on the boards of two nonprofit organizations, one working with low-income children and the other promoting humane treatment of domestic pets and adoption of shelter animals, and is a member of the Chancellor’s Club Advisory Board at the University of Kansas. Deborah and Paula married in California in 2008, in the brief window after the California Supreme Court ruling allow same-sex couples to marry and before the passage of the discriminatory Proposition 8.

At the time of Paula’s retirement, Deborah was informed by UNT’s Human Resources Department that Paula was ineligible for spousal health insurance coverage due to Texas’ marriage restrictions. After a U.S. District Court struck down the state’s discriminatory marriage bans in 2014, Deborah tried to enroll Paula for coverage but ERS denied her coverage. The U.S. District Court ruling has been stayed pending an appeal to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard arguments in that appeal plus appeals from Louisiana and Mississippi in January.

Deborah said,

“It is demeaning to know that each of my UNT colleagues is able to enroll his or her different-sex spouse in the health plan, but I can’t enroll Paula. I love my job, and my colleagues at UNT are supportive, but their hands are tied. It’s distressing that the state I work for treats me like a second-class citizen. It’s hurtful and unfair. I want to be treated equally to other state employees who enjoy the benefits of state-supported family health coverage. ERS has to be held to account, not just for me and Paula, but for all married lesbian and gay employees who contribute to the state of Texas through their dedication and hard work.”

The Fifth Circuit has yet to issue its ruling in DeLeon v. Perry, the case that struck down the Texas Marriage Amendments, although a ruling could come any day. Also, the U.S. Supreme Court in April heard oral argument in six cases out of the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals that could settle once and for all the question of marriage for same-sex couples across the country. A ruling in that case, Obergefell v. Hodges, is expected later this month.

Senior Counsel Kenneth D. Upton, Jr. and Staff Attorney Paul Castillo are handling the case for Lambda Legal.

The case is Leliaert v. Ragland.

Read the press release.