DETROIT, Aug. 8 (UPI) -- A federal judge has been asked to strike down a Michigan law that bans public agencies from providing health benefits to domestic partners of their employees.
In seeking the reversal, the American Civil Liberties Union also asked the judge to block the law until a ruling is made, the organization reported.
The ACLU, in association with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, filed the suit on behalf of five gay and lesbian employees and their domestic partners.
The new law discriminates by forcing employers to cancel insurance for their homosexual employees in committed relationships, the suit charges, while heterosexual workers can maintain benefits for their families and spouses.
Under the law, only domestic partners are barred from receiving healthcare coverage.
It applies to employees of city and county governments, school districts, and community colleges.
"The governor tried to pass this unfair statute off as a cost-cutting measure," said Kary L. Moss, executive director of the ACLU of Michigan. "Yet, this law will have no impact on state spending, but will have a huge impact on families who have lost the security of caring for their loved ones."
