The Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund along with co-counsel Bondurant Mixson & Ellmore LLP have filed a lawsuit against the State of Georgia for denying transgender related healthcare. Plaintiffs include Micha Rich & Benjamin Johnson who are both employees of Georgia government agencies & are being denied transgender related healthcare. Plaintiff Micha Rich stated, “I love my job. I love what I do & that I get to work in service of the public good. But my employer should not be able to deny me healthcare because of who I am. For years I had to put off living my life fully while I waited to have the medical treatments that my doctors & I knew I needed. I grew up in Georgia, I went to college in Georgia & now I work for the state of Georgia. I want to see Georgia lead on treating people fairly.” Plaintiff Benjamin Johnson added, "For many years I have felt that my body does not match the image I have of myself. When I was able to get the medical treatment I needed, I finally felt whole. I feel like this is the person I was meant to be & my mental health has improved drastically." Rich is a staff accountant at the Georgia Department of Audits & Accounts & Johnson is a media clerk at a Georgia elementary school. Both men have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria for which the treatment is social & medical gender transition as recommended by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health. Jeff Graham Executive Director of Georgia Equality concluded “Access to quality healthcare is a critical issue for all Georgians. Ensuring that transgender Georgians are treated fairly as other employees is a fundamental right.”
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