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BOSTON, January 23, 2017 — Today, notice will be provided to class members in a $7.5 million settlement that has been reached with Walmart and Sam’s Club (together “Walmart”) in a class action lawsuit that challenged the lack of health insurance benefits for the same-sex spouses of associates between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2013 (the “Settlement Class Period”). To receive payments under the Settlement, Settlement Class Members must file claims with the Settlement Administrator no later than March 20, 2017.

On December 22, 2016, the District Court presiding over the class action lawsuit granted preliminary approval of the Settlement, and directed the parties to send notice to Settlement Class Members so that they can learn about the Settlement and have the opportunity to submit claims to receive payments.

Walmart voluntarily began making the same Health Insurance benefits that it provides to opposite-sex spouses of its associates available to same-sex spouses of its associates as of January 1, 2014. Walmart denies it did anything wrong. The Court did not decide in favor of Plaintiff or Walmart. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement.

“Settlement Class Members” include those individuals who, during the January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013 Settlement Class Period, (1) worked at Walmart or Sam’s Club in the United States or Puerto Rico; (2) were legally married to a same-sex spouse; and (3) would have been eligible for spousal Health Insurance Benefits from Walmart or Sam’s Club but for the limitation on providing spousal Health Insurance Benefits to same-sex spouses.

Under the Settlement, Walmart has agreed to pay $7.5 million into a Settlement Fund. Up to $3.5 million of the Settlement Fund will be used to make payments to Settlement Class Members for certain documented out-of-pocket healthcare and/or health insurance costs incurred by their same-sex spouses during the Settlement Class Period. The remaining Settlement Fund, after deducting court-approved attorneys’ fees and expenses, a service award to the Named Plaintiff, and claims administration costs, will be used to make payments to Settlement Class Members who submit claims calculated based on the number of months they would have been eligible for spousal health insurance benefits during the Settlement Class Period. These “short form claimants” can receive a pro-rata share of the remaining funds based on the number of months they are eligible, up to $5,000 per year or up to $15,000 for the three year period. In addition, Walmart has committed to treating same-sex and opposite-sex spouses equally in providing health insurance benefits so long as to do so is consistent with applicable law.

To get a payment, Settlement Class Members must fill out and send in a Claim Form by March 20, 2017. Claim Forms and complete information about the Settlement are available at www.WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com.

If Settlement Class Members do nothing, their rights will be affected but they will not get a Settlement payment. Any Settlement Class Member who does not want to be legally bound by the Settlement must exclude themselves from it by March 20, 2017. Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves will not be able to sue or continue to sue Walmart for any legal claim resolved by this Settlement or released by the Settlement Agreement. Settlement Class Members who do not exclude themselves may object and notify the Court that they or their lawyer intends to appear at the Court’s Fairness Hearing. Objections are due March 20, 2017. More information is available at www.WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com.

Judge William Young will hold a final approval hearing in this case (Cote v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., No. 15-cv-12945-WGY) at 2:00 p.m. on May 11, 2017 at the John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse, 1 Courthouse Way, Boston, MA 02210. At this hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve: the Settlement; Class Counsel’s request for attorneys’ fees (up to 25% of the Settlement Fund) and costs; and $25,000 as a service award to the Class Representative. Settlement Class Members or their lawyers may appear at the hearing at their own expense.

For more information visit www.WalmartSameSexSpouseBenefitsSettlement.com or call 1-877-241-7543.

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James Baldwin has this quote that I think about constantly: “To be a Negro in this country and to be relatively conscious is to be in a rage almost all the time.” As a queer woman of color, this Women’s March is important to me because it’s crucial to my intersectional activism. It is important to me to show up as part of a community to show solidarity with like-minded folks, and to be a voice of opposition to the impending administration and all that it represents.

The incoming administration has already shown itself ready to attack civil and human rights and roll back affordable healthcare. Members of the administration have supported conversion therapy, shown hostility to women having autonomy over their own bodies, and embraced Islamophobia and outright racism. The president-elect’s campaign evoked the specter of mass deportations and internment camps.

Marching shows that this is not just a handful of people who are unhappy with the results of an election. Instead, we are a force that is completely outraged by attempts to normalize discrimination and hate. And we are not just going to sit back and let this happen to any of us.

I’m not able to go to D.C. for the national Women’s March but I’m glad that I can march here in Boston. This is my home. I was born and raised here. It would be easy to sit back in the bubble that is my city: a city of liberal and progressive laws many of us have fought so hard to create. It’s easy to forget that there are people across the country that don’t have that luxury. I’m marching because we cannot and will not leave them in the dust. For me, this is all part of a larger movement of justice.

I am also marching as a GLAD staffer because I want to show both my solidarity with other LGBTQ people around the country and GLAD’s commitment to our larger justice movement.

We at GLAD know well that the personal is political. We know what happens at the local level affects the national policy. And I want to remind folks here in Boston and all across the country that we are here for them as a resource. We can offer help and foster connections people will need now, over the next four years, and beyond.

Banning So-called “Conversion Therapy” in MA

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Update: March 9, 2019: Victory! Bill signed into law, making MA the 16th state to ban Conversion Therapy. GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Ben Klein’s statement can be read here.

March 5, 2019: GLAD Senior Staff Attorney Ben Klein submitted testimony on behalf of GLAD in support of H. 140 An Act Relative to Abusive Practices to Change Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Minors to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities. Read it here.

August 1, 2018: The MA Senate did not take up this bill in time for the close of session.

June 27, 2018: The MA House voted 137-13 to ban the discredited practice of conversion therapy on youth across the state. The bill now heads to the Senate.

The conversion therapy ban bill, An Act Relative to Abusive Practices to Change Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Minors (House Bill H.1190 and Senate Bill S.62) had a public hearing in the Joint Committee on Children, Families, and Persons with Disabilities on June 6, 2017.

Photo of GLAD Attorney Ben Klein testifying before the committee — *GLAD Senior Attorney Ben Klein testifying in support of the ban.*

Read testimony in support of the ban from GLAD Senior Attorney Ben Klein.

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Everyone from the American Psychiatric Association to the American Academy of Pediatrics agrees that seeking to change a minor’s sexual orientation or gender identity is not only ineffective, but dangerous.

Efforts are underway across the country to end the discredited practice. Thirteen states including four in New England – Vermont, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire – have passed laws preventing the use of conversion therapy with minors.

GLAD is part of the coalition working to make Massachusetts the next state to protect LGBTQ youth from this harmful practice and send them a message that they are perfectly okay.

GLAD Announces New Board Officers

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GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) will kick off 2017 with new leadership on its Board of Directors. At its December meeting the board voted in Richard J. Yurko as the new President, Joyce Kauffman as the Vice President, Darian Butcher as the Clerk, and David Hayter as the Treasurer. Yurko replaces Dianne Phillips, who served as board president for the past five years, and who will remain on the board.

Yurko, who previously served as Vice President, has been on GLAD’s board since 2009. He is the founder and former Managing Shareholder of Yurko, Salvesen & Remz, P.C., a business litigation boutique based in Boston. A graduate of Dartmouth College, he received his J.D. from Harvard Law School, where he was Senior Projects Editor for the Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review. Yurko frequently writes and advocates on First Amendment issues. He lives in Brookline, Massachusetts with his partner.

“I’m honored and humbled to become board president at this critical time for our community and for GLAD,” said Yurko. “The priorities laid out by our new strategic plan – racial and economic justice, state level public policy, and access to justice – are particularly apt. Our work is more critical than ever before. Reaching all in our community and joining forces with other progressive movements is essential to defending our rights and making still further advances towards equality.”

Joyce Kauffman is a graduate of Northeastern University School of Law. She is a founding member of the National Family Law Advisory Council, a member of the Family Equality Emeritus Board, and a frequent speaker and writer on LGBTQ family law. Kauffman has received numerous awards, including Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly’s “Lawyer of the Year” in 2009, the Gwen Bloomingdale Pioneer Spirit Award, and the Fisher Davenport Award. Her firm, Kauffman Law & Mediation, focuses in the areas of adoption, assisted reproductive technology, and mediation. Kauffman has been on GLAD’s board since 2012.

Darian M. Butcher is an Associate at Day Pitney LLP. She represents mortgage companies, loan servicers, and other financial institutions in the defense of claims by borrowers. She also represents individual and corporate clients in probate controversies. Butcher earned her J.D. from Boston University School of Law and clerked for Massachusetts Appeals Court Justice Malcolm Graham (ret). She has been on GLAD’s board since 2014.

David Hayter has held executive and finance positions at Liberty Mutual, Hospitals of Ontario Pension Plan, and Manulife/John Hancock. At Liberty Mutual, he was the founding co-executive sponsor of the company’s first LGBT Employee Resource Group. He holds an MBA from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, and brings to GLAD knowledge and experience in investments, accounting, and finance. Hayter has served on the boards of Wave Accounting, Community Servings, St. John’s Hospital Foundation, and the Wilfrid Laurier University Board of Governors.

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The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), representing four Massachusetts churches, today formally withdrew the lawsuit it had recently filed, claiming that the Massachusetts public accommodations non-discrimination law violates churches’ First Amendment rights. The lawsuit was Horizon Christian Fellowship et al. v. Jamie R. Williamson et al., Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-12034 (D. Mass., October 11, 2016).

On the churches’ behalf, the ADF had claimed that houses of worship are wholly immune from coverage under public accommodations laws even when they engage in public, commercial, secular activities, arguing that churches have absolute control of the use of their facilities in every context. Although challenging every aspect of the public accommodations law, the lawsuit seemed to be motivated by the recent addition of gender identity as a protected class in the Massachusetts law.

Gary Buseck, Legal Director for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), issued the following statement:

“The claim made by the plaintiffs was from the outset breathtaking in its audacity. Their assertion that churches are completely excused from complying with non-discrimination statutes has no foundation in the law. To the contrary, Massachusetts courts have struck an important balance between principles of non-discrimination and religious liberty — applying the public accommodations law to entities, including religious ones, when engaged in secular activities and not applying the law to entities when engaged in any religious activities.

“We are glad to see ADF withdraw its baseless claim but stand prepared to ensure that when churches engage in non-religious activities, they are bound by the law just like everyone else.”

Advocating for More Inclusive Community College Environments for Transgender Students

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Community colleges offer open access to affordable academic and workforce training programs. It is critical that these community institutions are inclusive to all, including transgender students.

In 2016 GLAD first learned about barriers faced by transgender students at Northern Essex Community College (NECC) in Massachusetts from Colby Patrie, who is studying art at the school.

The school did not allow students to use bathrooms consistent with their gender identity – and with no gender-neutral bathrooms on the classroom side of campus, students often had to choose between going to the bathroom and going to class.Their other option was using a bathroom where they felt uncomfortable or unsafe.

“The facilities policy caused confusion, fear, and shame on campus,” says Colby. “I really felt it needed to change, both to eliminate the inconvenience, and to let transgender students know that the school respects and values us.”

GLAD worked with Colby to secure a change in this policy, bringing NECC in line with state and federal law, and creating a more inclusive educational environment for transgender students. GLAD’s demand letter to NECC read in part, “NECC’s current policy is out of step with virtually every other entity in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts…[including] elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, employers, landlords…hospitals, gyms, homeless shelters and swimming pools.”

Another policy of the college required that transgender students could only use their chosen names and gender in college records by providing the school with a certified court order reflecting a legal name change or a legal change of gender, also in violation of state and federal law. Since GLAD’s intervention, the school has agreed to the use of chosen names in school records.

“NECC’s discriminatory policy was far out of step with other public institutions in Massachusetts, particularly educational institutions, and violated state public accommodations law and federal law,” says GLAD attorney Polly Crozier. “We’re happy with the new facilities policy, and with the steps the school has made toward a better policy on biographical data. We will continue to advocate with them on that issue so that NECC can provide a truly supportive learning environment for all its students.”

ASGCC v. Town of Barnstable

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Victory! MA Court Rules in Favor of Needle Distribution Programs

In a decision with critical implications for the state’s efforts to combat the opioid epidemic and reduce transmission of HIV and Hepatitis C, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled unanimously on June 14, 2017 that needle access programs such as those run by HIV service programs, community health initiatives or other social service agencies are legal without restriction under state law.

The decision in AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod v. Town of Barnstable affirms that any organization or individual may distribute hypodermic needles and syringes throughout the Commonwealth, and that such programs are not limited to those operated by the Department of Public Health.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) heard argument in this landmark syringe access case on February 14, 2017.

GLAD and AIDS Action Committee are representing AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod in this case in which the town of Barnstable attempted to shut down ASGCC’s life-saving needle access program.

“The trial judge agreed with us in his initial ruling: MA law is clear that there are no restrictions on an individual or organization providing access to clean needles,” says GLAD’s AIDS Law Project Director Ben Klein, who will present argument at the SJC. “But the Town of Barnstable’s recalcitrance makes it important for the SJC to declare that’s exactly what the law is.”

Read our FAQ about this case.

Case History

December 2, 2015: Victory! Declaring that AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod’s (ASGCC) needle access program “saves lives,” a Superior Court judge, in a first-of-its kind ruling, issued a preliminary injunction against the town of Barnstable, which had tried to shut down a needle distribution program run by the group in Hyannis. The injunction ensures that ASGCC can continue providing its life-saving services to injection drug users.

GLAD and AIDS Action Committee are representing AIDS Support Group of Cape Cod (ASGCC) in a suit filed in Barnstable Superior Court, against the town of Barnstable for preventing the group from providing free sterile needles to intravenous drug users at its Hyannis offices.

Update November 10, 2015: The judge has granted ASGCC’s motion for a temporary restraining order to bar the town from enforcing the “cease and desist” order as the case proceeds.

In 2006, the Massachusetts legislature repealed all prohibitions and restrictions on the possession and distribution of hypodermic needles, precisely to address the public health emergency at the center of this case: the HIV and Hepatitis C epidemics.

On September 22, 2015, Barnstable’s director of public health hand-delivered to ASGCC a hand-written “cease and desist” order in which he asserted that ASGCC was distributing syringes in violation of Massachusetts law. After ASGCC indicated they were suing to challenge the order, the Board of Health suspended the order for one week (from 11/3-11/10) and asked ASGCC and the town to reach an agreement addressing neighborhood concerns. ASGCC agreed to address parking issues and to implement a program to pick up improperly discarded syringes. While ASGCC was formulating the plan, the town unreasonably escalated its demands.

ASGCC has been a collaborative community partner in working to keep the public safe during the opioid crisis. While there are other entities that make sterile syringes and needles available to injection drug users―such as pharmacies―these institutions do not collect needles and syringes that have been used, as ASGCC does. From July 1, 2014 to June 30, 2015, ASGCC distributed 112,604 syringes and collected 115,209. Thanks to ASGCC’s policy of encouraging clients to bring in used needles for proper disposal, 2,605 needles that were distributed by institutions other than ASGCC and which might otherwise have been improperly discarded were not.

ASGCC provides services on Cape Cod to support people with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus, and works to prevent the spread of those infections to others on the Cape. In Hyannis and Provincetown, ASGCC offers case management, peer support, housing, nutritional programs, testing, and risk reduction strategies to more than 800 clients. Among those risk-reduction strategies is the availability of sterile needles, along with bio-hazard containers and counseling, to injection drug users, who are at high risk for both HIV and Hepatitis C.

Doe v. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company

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Settled, January 8, 2019: The parties have reached a settlement in the lawsuit Doe v. Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company (United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts) that challenged Mutual’s policy of declining applicants who take the medication Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV (known as PrEP) from long-term care insurance.

Mutual of Omaha has revised its underwriting guidelines and no longer declines long term care insurance applicants solely on the basis that an applicant takes Truvada as PrEP for HIV prevention. Mutual will issue a long-term care insurance policy to the plaintiff, who proceeded under the pseudonym John Doe.

Mr. Doe was represented by Bennett Klein, AIDS Law Project Director for GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and attorney John Ward. Mr. Klein said, “We are pleased that Mutual no longer declines insurance coverage based on the use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, and we call upon other providers of life, disability, and long-term care insurance to do the same.”

Update July 18, 2018: GLAD filed a motion for summary judgment in a first-of-its-kind case challenging discrimination against a gay man who takes the medication Truvada as pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to prevent the transmission of HIV.

Our plaintiff in Doe v. Mutual of Omaha asserts that the insurance company’s refusal to sell him a long-term care policy is based on its categorical exclusion of anyone who is HIV-negative and takes PrEP. Doe asserts that Mutual’s blanket exclusion is sexual orientation discrimination because 80% of PrEP users are gay men. He also presses a claim for discrimination on the basis of perceived disability.

This case, the first to challenge the anti-gay policy that is widespread in the industry, has brought national prominence to the issue and prompted some state insurance agencies to consider action. In June 2018, the New York Department of Financial Services issued a directive that the exclusion of people on PrEP from life, disability and long-term care insurance is unlawful discrimination.

Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, the motion also rebuts Mutual’s jurisdictional objections.

Overview

GLAD is pursuing a case in federal court charging that Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company discriminated when it denied a gay man long term care insurance because he is taking Truvada. Truvada, a form of PrEP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, is a medication prescribed to HIV-negative people to prevent the transmission of HIV. This is the first lawsuit in the country challenging discrimination against a person on PrEP. The case is currently in the discovery phase.

Case History

GLAD has filed a complaint in Massachusetts Superior Court charging that Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company discriminated when it denied a gay man long term care insurance because he is taking Truvada. Truvada, a form of PrEP or Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, is a medication prescribed to HIV-negative people to prevent the transmission of HIV. This is the first lawsuit in the country challenging discrimination against a person on PrEP.

Truvada, approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 as a treatment for HIV and in 2012 as a method of preventing HIV infection, is considered by public health experts to be a major medical breakthrough in HIV prevention, with the potential to end the epidemic.

The complaint describes how Doe, a 61-year-old Boston man, applied for long-term care insurance with Mutual of Omaha in November 2014. Long-term care insurance pays for some or all of the costs of nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home health care for people unable to take care of themselves and is part of end-of-life planning. He received a denial letter in February 2015, which openly stated that the reason for the denial was that he was taking Truvada as PrEP. Mr. Doe appealed the denial, and his appeal was rejected in April 2015.

The claim filed with MCAD asserts that Mutual of Omaha illegally denied Mr. Doe access to a place of public accommodation based on sexual orientation and on disability. Disability anti-discrimination laws protect those who are treated adversely based on false beliefs about a health condition.

Frequently Asked Questions

John Doe’s story

John Doe is a 61-year-old gay man “with survivor’s guilt.”

“When I walk down the streets of Provincetown, I see ghosts everywhere,” he says. Doe lost dozens of friends to the epidemic during its peak in the 1980’s and 90’s. “Every week, we were reading the obituaries of people who died at age 30.”

Like many men of his generation, he was scarred and schooled by the epidemic, and now takes an HIV test regularly and is very mindful of his health and that of his partner of 25 years.

“The AIDS epidemic changed me. It made me politically aware and politically active,” he says. “If there is anything I can do personally to stop it, I will. That’s why when Truvada became available, it was to me such an incredible breakthrough and a huge opportunity.”

Doe’s doctor prescribed him Truvada around the same time Doe’s partner’s mother became very ill. “We took care of her until she died,” he said. “That made me very aware of the fact that I am aging and have no children who would take care of me.” So in 2014, Doe applied for long-term care insurance with Mutual of Omaha, and was denied because he is taking Truvada.

“I’m trying to do the right thing,” he says. “I think insurers should be begging people to take Truvada instead of discouraging it.”

Treatment for HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy

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On August 10, 2016 Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker signed into law An Act Relative to HIV-Associated Lipodystrophy Syndrome Treatment

The law went into effect November 9, 2016.

This first-of-its-kind legislation, sponsored by Senator Mark Montigny and Representative Sarah Peake, requires public and private insurers to cover treatment of a debilitating side effect of early HIV medications.

This historic victory means that some of the longest-term survivors of the HIV epidemic will finally have access to the critical health care they need and deserve.

GLAD convened the Treat Lipodystrophy Coalition (TLC) in 2013, after representing several people with lipodystrophy who were experiencing profound suffering but could only get medical treatment if they lawyered up and threatened to sue their insurer. Together with then State Representative Carl Sciortino, the original bill sponsor, we realized that a more systemic solution was needed and the idea for this legislation was born.

The TLC brought together people living with HIV, advocacy and service organizations, and dedicated physicians and medical professionals. Thanks to the leadership of legislative sponsors Representative Sarah Peake and Senator Mark Montigny, the commitment and work of TLC partner organizations, the efforts of our community’s long-time State House advocate Arline Isaacson, and most importantly the courage and persistence of people living with HIV who have shared their stories, the TLC successfully passed this first-of-its-kind legislation that will make a powerful difference in people’s lives.

Download this Q&A as a pdf

The information below explains the law, and what to do if you are seeking treatment. If you have further questions, contact GLAD’s legal information line at 617-426-1350, www.GLADAnswers.org, or AIDS Action Committee’s legal hotline at 617-450-1317.

What is lipodystrophy?

Lipodystrophy is a disfiguring side effect of some early HIV treatments, characterized by painful, abnormal changes in body shape, such as fat growths on the back of the neck that press on the spine, and facial wasting that is seen as a public disclosure of HIV status. Lipodystrophy causes profound and unnecessary suffering: spinal malformation and posture problems, headaches, restricted mobility, depression and anxiety, suicidality, and stigma.

What does this law do?

Although there are effective treatments for lipodystrophy, including liposuction and facial fillers, insurers have routinely denied claims for these services on the improper grounds that they are cosmetic. This law rectifies that problem. It requires that private insurers, MassHealth (the Massachusetts Medicaid program), and the Group Insurance Commission (for state employees) cover medical treatments for HIV-associated lipodystrophy. In other words, you will now be able to get the medical care that you need.

What treatments for lipodystrophy are covered?

The law does not place any limit on what treatments or therapies are covered. To quote the legal lingo, the law requires “coverage for medical or drug treatments to correct or repair disturbances of body composition caused by HIV associated lipodystrophy syndrome including, but not limited to, reconstructive surgery, such as suction assisted lipectomy, other restorative procedures and dermal injections or fillers for reversal of facial lipoatrophy syndrome.”

What do my health care provider and I need to do to obtain approval for coverage?

The provider who is undertaking the treatment may need to submit a request for prior authorization with your insurer. However, the law ensures coverage with a statement from a treating provider that “the treatment is necessary for correcting, repairing or ameliorating the effects of HIV associated lipodystrophy syndrome.” Please be sure that your doctor knows to include this important language in the request.

What if I have applied for treatment in the past and been rejected?

That does not matter. Your doctor can submit a new request for prior authorization and you will not be denied because you were rejected for the same procedure in the past.

When does this law go into effect?

This law is effective November 9, 2016.

17th Annual Spirit of Justice Award Dinner

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Thank you to everyone who joined us at our 17th annual Spirit of Justice Award Dinner and to all our friends and supporters who are keeping up the fight for justice for all.

Watch video: