Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
The TWU has carried its contract battle into the bedroom - hitting the MTA with a federal sexual-discrimination suit for allegedly depriving female workers of their right to affordable contraception.
The suit, filed yesterday in Manhattan federal court, takes aim at the agency for providing health-care benefits that include coverage for medication used exclusively by men - including impotency drugs like Viagra - but not The Pill and other prescription contraceptives used by women.
"By failing to provide coverage for FDA-approved prescription contraceptive drugs and devices in its health benefits plan, [the MTA] is discriminating against its female employees," said the civil-rights suit filed by Transport Workers Union Local 100 President Roger Toussaint and Darlyne Lawson, the recording secretary.
Lawyers for the union said the Metropolitan Transportation Authority had agreed to meet demands for contraception coverage after more than a decade of disagreement.
But that was before contract talks derailed over unrelated issues last year.
A spokesman for the MTA declined comment.
Today was the last day the union could sue under rules that require civil-rights lawsuits to be filed within a 90 days of receiving the green light from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
"Prescription contraceptives are available only to women, while the plan covers almost all drugs and devices used by men," Lawson said in court papers.
On April 20, the EEOC failed to find that the MTA had violated civil-rights laws.
But it authorized the lawsuit to go forward.
The union members' contract has been in limbo since transit workers rejected the deal reached following last year's strike and a state board declared an impasse.
Binding arbitration hearings are set to begin Aug. 4, in which both sides will make their case to an independent third party.
"The union was hoping to resolve this through contract negotiations. Since there's been a delay in that we decided to go ahead with this," said attorney Daniel Bright, who drafted the suit for the union.
"The expectation was that this would have been resolved by now."
kati.cornell@nypost.com
Copyright 2004 NYP Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
