Business & Tech

Same-Sex Discrimination Complaint Filed Against West Hartford Business

Brookdale Place allegedly denied insurance coverage for female employee's wife.

West Hartford’s Brookdale Place is facing a charge of discrimination filed against it by a female employee who was denied the right to put her wife onto her employer-provided health plan, according to a press release from the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

The charge - filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claims that Kerry Considine, a licensed physical therapist who worked with seniors at Brookdale Place since October 2012, was discriminated against on the basis of her sex in violation of state and federal law when her wife Renee was denied coverage.

According to the press release, Considine and Renee were married on Nov. 1, 2013 in Massachusetts. Same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

“Shortly after their wedding, [Considine] asked Brookdale’s human resources department to add Renee to her health plan and was informed that Brookdale does not offer health insurance coverage to same-sex spouses,” the press release states.

Brookdale is a publicly owned company and is the nation’s largest owner and operator of senior living communities, according to the release. It is headquartered in Tennessee.

Interested in local real estate?Subscribe to Patch's new newsletter to be the first to know about open houses, new listings and more.

The release states that Renee “has inadequate coverage through her student health plan and has had to pay for medical expenses out-of-pocket. ...

“The couple is considering having a baby and worry about coverage for prenatal care for Renee.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here