Woman Sues West Hartford Employer For Allegedly Failing To Provide Health ...

WEST HARTFORD - An employee of Brookdale Place of West Hartford has filed a discrimination complaint against the company for refusing to provide health insurance to her wife because they are a same-sex couple.

Kerry Considine of Griswold is a licensed physical therapist for Brookdale Senior Living, a Tennessee-based company that operates more than 550 senior living facilities, including four in Connecticut.

She has worked there since October 2012, according to the complaint she filed with the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission dated Jan. 17.

Considine, 36, married her wife, Renee, on Nov. 1, 2013, according to the complaint. She had called the company's human resources department that October to inquire whether she could add her to her health and dental insurance plans as her legal spouse.

'I was told on the phone that Brookdale did not offer health insurance coverage to same-sex spouses, even though I am otherwise qualified to receive those benefits,' Considine wrote in the complaint.

She emailed the department to request that Renee be added to her policies on the day of their wedding; the request was denied in a Nov. 4 email, according to the complaint.

'Brookdale has refused and continues to refuse to provide spousal health and dental insurance coverage for my spouse because of our same-sex sexual orientation,' Considine said in the complaint. 'As a result of Brookdale's refusal and continued refusal to provide spousal health and dental insurance coverage for Renee, we have suffered negative financial, health, as well as emotional and physical harm and pain.'

According to a news release from Boston-based GLAD, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, Renee Considine is a graduate student studying to be a guidance counselor and has an inadequate student health insurance plan. The couple hopes to have a baby with Renee carrying the child, but is worried about how they will cover the related expenses.

Jim O'Neill, a spokesman for the Connecticut CHRO, declined to comment on the specific case but said if a company has a presence in the state, they're 'liable to abide by the state laws of Connecticut.

'And one of the state laws protects equality between people when it comes to benefits regarding marriage,' he said.

Connecticut became the third state in the nation, after California and Massachusetts, to legalize same-sex marriage with an Oct. 10, 2008, state Supreme Court ruling.

'Presumably, this company offers benefits to married couples, but they don't recognize same-sex couples, therein is the rub,' O'Neill said. 'Their apparent position is that Tennessee defines marriage differently than Connecticut, therefore Tennessee law trumps Connecticut law. It doesn't.'

Julie K. Davis, a spokeswoman for Brookdale, said in an emailed statement that the company could not comment on the case because it has not yet received a copy of the complaint.

'When we receive a copy, we will review it promptly and respond appropriately (as we do with any complaint),' Davis wrote. 'Brookdale believes strongly that we succeed through partnership with our employees; we recognize that good people make the difference and are the key to our success. Our culture values all of our associates, and we are grateful for all they do each day to serve our residents.'

In an emailed statement, EEOC spokeswoman Justine Lisser said, in part, 'We are not aware of any court decisions yet on whether it violates Title VII's prohibition on sex discrimination in benefits for an employer to engage in disparate treatment of married employees based on the sex of their spouse (i.e., providing a benefit only to those employees in opposite-sex legal marriages but not those in same-sex legal marriages), and the Commission has not issued policy guidance on this question.'

Lisser said she couldn't comment on Considine's case.

Janson Wu - an attorney with GLAD who helped Considine file the complaint - said Brookdale is not alone in its actions.

'Even after the demise of the Defense of Marriage Act, employees are still discriminating against gay and lesbian employees, even in states that allow them to marry,' he said. 'Many employers, including Brookdale, are refusing to give benefits. Ultimately, this is a case about equal pay for equal work.

'It's not just unfair, it's illegal,' Wu said.

Considine said she was 'devastated' when the company denied her request.

'My wife and I have been together now for over 12 years; we got married in November, we're in this loving, committed relationship and I just want to be treated equally and fairly to my co-workers,' she said, but she was denied coverage 'just because I'm a woman married to a woman.

'It's just a little surprising, Brookdale being a health care provider, caring for people and promoting that health and wellness, they're unable to provide that for their employees.'