Lambda Legal won a preliminary injunction July 23 stopping Arizona from
revoking domestic-partner benefits for state employees.
U.S. District Judge John W. Sedwick ruled: “(T)here is ‘an inherent
inequality’ in allowing some employees to participate fully in the State’s
health plan, while expecting other employees to rely on other sources,
such as private insurance or Medicaid. ‘This back of the bus’ treatment
relegates plaintiffs to a second-class status by imposing inferior
workplace treatment on them, inflicting serious constitutional and
dignitary harms that after-the-fact damages cannot adequately address.”
Arizona lawmakers eliminated health care for gay state employees’ partners
in a budget bill signed by Gov. Jan Brewer last September.
Lambda represents 10 state employees whose partners need the benefits.
By Rex Wockner
