A gay rights group has filed suit seeking damages for state employees whose families will lose their health-care coverage following the elimination this year of domestic-partner benefits.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix claims the move amounts to a violation of constitutional protections that guarantee equal treatment of all individuals.
House Bill 2013, signed into law this year by Gov. Jan Brewer, eliminates health benefits for domestic partners effective next year.
The move will strip benefits from about 800 people, saving the state an estimated $3.3 million when it takes effect next October.
Lambda Legal, an advocacy group based in New York, filed a federal lawsuit in Phoenix on Tuesday on behalf of 10 state employees protesting the elimination of their benefits. The employees work for the Arizona Highway Patrol, the State Department of Game and Fish and state universities.
Brewer and officials at the Department of Administration are named as defendants in the suit. Tracy Collins, a Department of Public Safety officer, is the lead plaintiff. (more…)
Domestic partners are being eliminated from state employee benefits just a year after they were added to the benefits plan, 
