Seyfarth Synopsis: In
Toomey v. U of Arizona, No. 19-35 (D. Ar. June 24,
2019), the Magistrate Judge determined on a motion to dismiss that
Title VII does not prohibit discrimination based on a person's
transgender status. However, she decided that the plaintiff had
adequately alleged that the health plan exclusion for gender
reassignment surgery disadvantaged a "suspect class",
justifying a heightened level of scrutiny, and that defendants had
failed to argue that the exclusion would survive this level of
scrutiny.
Plaintiff Russell Toomey, a transgendered male, filed suit in
early 2019 against his employer, the State of Arizona, after the
self-funded health plan provided by the State of Arizona denied
Toomey's request for medical preauthorization for a total
hysterectomy. The Plan generally provides coverage for
"medically necessary care", and Toomey's doctors
contended that the hysterectomy was medically necessary, but the
Plan denied authorization under an
