NewsRescue
A Florida bill would require employers who provide coverage for gender transition measures to also provide coverage for de-transition-related services.
The “Reverse Woke Act” requires employers who provide gender-transition coverage to cover the de-transition process even if the person wishing to de-transition is no longer a current employee of the company.
“An employer that covers the cost of gender dysphoria treatment for employees, directly or through benefits, must also cover the total costs associated with treatment that reverses the gender dysphoria treatment, regardless of the rate of coverage provided for the initial treatment,” the proposal states.
“An employee who received gender dysphoria treatment under an employer’s coverage is entitled to full coverage by that employer of the total costs associated with treatment that reverses gender dysphoria treatment if the employee later determines that the gender dysphoria treatment was not appropriate for him or her and wishes to reverse the treatment, regardless of whether the person is currently employed by that same employer at the time of such determination.” “Whether or not the initial treatment is provided in this state has no bearing on an employer’s obligations under this section, and an employer may not make coverage of subsequent treatment contingent on whether or not the employee receives such subsequent treatment in this state.”
If a company refuses to cover the costs of the de-transitioning process after previously covering those costs for that person, the worker or former worker may file a civil action to recover those costs, as well as any damages resulting from the employer’s failure to comply with the requirement to cover those costs.
The bill was introduced by Republican state Sen. Blaise Ingoglia of Florida.
“Woke businesses must be held accountable when offering to pay for gender affirming surgeries in other states, such as California, because they are nothing more than political decisions masquerading as healthcare and human resource decisions,” Ingoglia said in a press release, according to the Voice of Florida. “Floridians should not be used as political pawns to advance the Governor of California’s leftist agenda. This should be a no-brainer for these companies if they truly cared about their employees “According to the outlet, he stated.
Ingoglia, who previously served in the Florida House of Representatives, was elected to the state Senate in a 2022 election.
