Under the federal Title VII baseline, what does public EEOC guidance say about different spouse health-insurance coverage based on sexual orientation?

Short answer

If a covered employer provides different spouse health-insurance coverage because of an employee’s sexual orientation, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s public Title VII guidance describes that as sex discrimination and identifies insurance as an employee benefit.[1] [2]

That federal baseline does not decide a particular coverage denial. Employer coverage, plan terms, the person or entity that made the decision, the stated reason, and any state or local law can matter.[3]

This is a review-only general-information candidate. It does not interpret a health plan, select a state or local jurisdiction, decide whether a particular employer is covered, or determine whether a particular decision was lawful.

Sources checked

The EEOC pages below are official agency guidance. Their saved public response bodies did not display a publication, revision, version, or effective date. The candidate therefore stays limited to the agency’s stated federal baseline and requires qualified human review of currentness and any additional authority before use.