Couple Accuses Wal-Mart of Discrimination Over Health Insurance

The Wal-Mart corporation has reportedly agreed to meet with a lesbian couple to resolve an insurance issue before the couple decides to take the issue to court.

Jacqueline Cote, a manager at Wal-Mart in Bedford, Massachusetts, has for the past several years tried to register her same-sex spouse, Diana Smithson, on her insurance with the company, but has been rejected. Cote has now filed a discrimination complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission [EEOC], who has determined that Wal-Mart discriminated against the same-sex spouses when it failed to provide them both with health insurance. 

While Cote was trying to access health coverage for herself and her spouse, Smithson was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and lost her private insurance. The EEOC has ordered Wal-Mart to meet with Cote so as to possibly repay some of the $100,000 in medical debt her spouse racked up while treating her cancer.

According to The Atlantic, because Cote an Smithson were living in a state where same-sex marriage is legal, Massachusetts, they should have been allowed joint healthcare coverage by Wal-Mart, but many times corporation fail to update their insurance policies to accommodate the fast-changing legal landscape of same-sex marriage.

"We have so many states that now that have marriage equality, but so many employers have not updated their policies to reflect the change in the law," Cote's lawyer, Allison Wright, told The Atlantic. "They are denying benefits to employees who are in legal marriages."

Wal-Mart spokesperson Randy Hargrove told The Associated Press that while the company disagrees with the EEOC's determination that they are in the wrong, Wal-Mart is willing to meet with Cote and Smithson to discuss resolutions.

"While we disagree with the finding of reasonable cause, we have notified the EEOC of our willingness to meet with them and Miss Cote to discuss resolving the matter," Hargrove said.