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U.S. NEWS Thursday 18 June 2020
Continued from Front business with 15 employees have to work to remove
HEALTH CARE BENEFITS or more. But some states from our system."
Transgender workers and have laws that do cover Mosby filed a federal dis-
people in same-sex rela- those workers. crimination lawsuit against
tionships often face dis- Fifteen states have nondis- the city for her termination.
parities in access to health crimination laws that cover RELIGIOUS REASONS
care. Employers play a role all employers, regardless of In their ruling, the Supreme
because they work with size, according to Freedom Court judges made clear
insurance companies to for All Americans. Another that they weren't going to
decide which treatments 22 states have laws that make a call on whether a
should be covered under cover workers at employers business can fire an em-
their employees' health in- with at least two employ- ployee for religious reasons,
surance plans. ees or more. leaving that an open ques-
For example, an insurance Connecticut, for example, tion. "It kind of punted on
plan that a company crafts extends the protections to those issues and said we
for employees may cover workplaces with at least can address these at a lat- In this Oct. 8, 2019, file photo, supporters of LGBTQ rights hold
hormone treatments for a three employees, and Ar- er date," said Todd Anten, placards in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington.
woman undergoing meno- kansas extends it to em- a lawyer at Quinn Emanuel. Associated Press
pause, but it might not ployers with nine, Freedom Employers that have reli-
cover hormone treatments for All Americans said. gious objections to employ- not have access to paid "It makes you feel like your
that a doctor prescribes for UNIFORMS ing LGBT people might be family leave to care for a situation is odd, when that's
a transgender patient. And Dress codes and uniforms able to raise those claims newborn. But among those not typically how I feel
same-sex couples some- can present challenges for in a different case, Justice that have access to fam- about my situation."
times are shut out of ben- transgender employees. Neil Gorsuch wrote for the ily leave, the policies often RECOGNIZING LGBTQ
efits such as access to fer- Rachel Mosby, who was the court. favor birth mothers, said WORKERS
tility treatments, which are fire chief in Byron, Georgia, BATHROOMS Gabriel Dobson, 34, a gay Many employers may not
in some states only offered says she was fired from her Another issue the Supreme man who is married to an- know how many LGTBQ
to couples that are not the job after she began show- Court said it wouldn't de- other man. people it employs, which
same gender. ing up to work in feminine cide this week: same-sex Dobson left his last job be- makes it hard to make sure
Treatments for HIV, which dress suits and skirts instead bathrooms and locker cause he felt his employer they're invited or included
the Centers for Disease of one of the masculine rooms. was not promoting him be- in particular programs.
Control and Prevention says suits she had been wearing Jerame Davis, executive di- cause he is black and gay. Some big employers do al-
disproportionately affects for the last decade. Mosby rector of LGBTQ workplace Now, at a company that's low employees to indicate
gay and bisexual men, are spent more than $500 of advocacy group Pride at more culturally inclusive, on their human resources
sometimes shortchanged fire department money on Work, said employers right Dobson is facing subtler forms that they are LGBTQ,
by insurance plans. the suits, but was issued now have a lot of leeway challenges. His new com- like they do for gender
"Some HIV drugs may be a written reprimand and in how they respond if a pany offers 16 weeks of and race, said M.V. Lee
outright not covered by in- required to pay the de- colleague doesn't want family leave to a mother Badgett, an economics
surance at all, or may be partment back. When she a transgender person to who gives birth to a child, professor and co-director
covered with copays or bought herself male suits a use the same restroom or but only four weeks to a of the Center for Employ-
deductibles that make the decade earlier, there had locker room as them. Of- parent who did not give ment Equity at the University
drug essentially inaccessi- been no issue. ten times, the transgender birth. That's making him of Massachusetts Amherst.
ble," Suffredini said. "It's like "These implicit biases and person is singled out and wonder how he and his "I think employers that are
the functional equivalent systemic discrimination asked to use a different fa- husband would manage if trying to be proactive and
of denying coverage alto- against people that are cility, which isn't ideal, Davis they adopt a child. are looking at gender gaps
gether." others, none of that has said. "When you are both non- or maybe racial wage
SMALL BUSINESSES gone away," Mosby said. "We shouldn't be singling birth parents and you have gaps, they should try to
Not all workers are protect- "It's still there, and that's out individuals," he said. a child, who is going to get think about ways that they
ed by the Civil Rights Act of what we have to fight PARENTAL LEAVE that time off to take care of could do the same for LGBT
1964, which only applies to against. That's what we Most workers in the U.S. do the child?" Dobson asked. people," Badgett said.q

Administration seeking rollbacks on tech company protections

By MICHAEL BALSAMO and speech on the internet. legal protection if an on-
MARCY GORDON Companies such as Twitter line platform purposefully
WASHINGTON (AP) — The and Facebook are grant- solicited third parties to
Justice Department is pro- ed liability protection un- sell illegal drugs to minors,
posing that Congress roll der the Communications exchange sexually explicit
back legal protections for Decency Act because photos or video of children
online platforms such as they are treated as "plat- or engage in other criminal
Facebook, Google and forms," rather than "publish- activity, the official said.
Twitter that generally could ers," which can face law- The official was not autho-
not be held legally respon- suits over content. Without rized to discuss the matter
sible for what people post that shield, companies publicly before the formal
on the sites. could face lawsuits from announcement and spoke
The proposed changes to people who feels wronged on condition of anonymity.
Section 230 of a major tele- by something someone The department said its
communication overhaul else has posted. proposals are aimed "at in-
from 1996 come weeks af- One of the administration's This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a centivizing platforms to ad-
ter President Donald Trump requests is that Congress mobile phone in Philadelphia. dress the growing amount
signed an executive order strip the civil immunity pro- Associated Press of illicit content online,
challenging the protec- tections for tech compa- while preserving the core
tions that have served as nies that may be complicit platforms, according to a cial. For example, the pro- of Section 230's immunity
a bedrock for unfettered in unlawful activity on their Justice Department offi- posal would remove the for defamation." q