SAN FRANCISCO—On December 17, Karen Golinski, a lawyer who has worked for the 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco for nearly 20 years, found herself in front of U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White. Golinski has filed a lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) as well as its director as a result of their refusal to grant health insurance coverage for her wife.

Golinksi’s boss, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, has ordered OPM to add her wife to the her employer-sponsored health care plan.

The court order filed February 1, states that Golinski’s office is “governed by the Ninth Circuit’s employment dispute resolution plan, which prohibits discrimination based on sex and sexual orientation.” The availability of health insurance for oneself and one’s family is a valuable benefit of employment, and denial of such a benefit on account of sex and sexual orientation violates the terms of the EEO plan that covers Golinski.

According to the court documents, the director of OPM, John Berry, has claimed that he is unable to add the lawyer’s wife, Amy Cunninghis, to her plan as she is not her spouse according to the Defense of Marriage Act’s interpretation of federal law. DOMA believes the term “marriage” to be the legal union between one man and one woman.

Kozinski stated that under a broader construction of the FEHBA provisions, OPM “would be free to contract for family benefits for individuals who do not qualify as spouses under federal law, but who are considered spouses under state law.”

Kozinski points out that even if the court were to grant Golinski funds to find alternative health coverage elsewhere, the plans available on the private market would not be comparable. He stated, “Even if those mundane concerns weren’t present, there is an inherent inequality in allowing some employees to participate fully in the FEHBP, while giving others a wad of cash to go elsewhere. Even if the destination is the same, it’s still the back of the bus.”

White has stated that he needs more time to study the “important and difficult legal problems” of the case. The pressure is on as gay rights activists keep a close eye on the proceedings .