Housing Works: Housing Prevents AIDS. Housing Improves Health.

Pending Cases

Denning v. Barbour: In December 2005, Housing Works and national and local co-counsel filed suit in Mississippi federal court challenging Mississippi’s drastic new restrictions on prescription drug coverage for Medicaid recipients. In 2005, Mississippi passed a new law capping the number of drugs that indigent individuals on Medicaid could obtain each month at no more than five overall, only two of which could be brand name drugs.

The law is a threat to the health and lives of thousands of poor Mississippians who require more than five drugs, or more than two brand name drugs, in order to treat their illnesses and stay alive, including individuals living with HIV and AIDS. The case is pending.

Bumpus v. New York City Transit Authority:
In 2006, a New York City Transit Authority employee subjected transgender New Yorker Tracy Bumpus to a long, public, and virulently homophobic and transphobic tirade after she asked for help with a malfunctioning Metro card. Two subway riders who witnessed the incident later followed Bumpus when she got off the train and hurled more homophobic epithets at her, causing Bumpus to fear for her safety. Returning to her subway station a week later, Bumpus was again mocked by the Transit Authority employee in front of another Transit Authority employee.

The harassment eventually led to Housing Works’ decision to sue the Transit Authority employee for discriminating on the basis of gender identity—a violation of the city’s Human Rights Law—as well as the Transit Authority itself, for failing to properly train and supervise its employees, and to deal with the incident. Housing Works has long been a champion of transgender rights and a provider of transgender services. Transgender people are disproprotionately affected by HIV/AIDS.

In a major win for all transgender New Yorkers, an appeals court ruled unanimously in 2009 against the Transit Authority when it sought to have the case against Bumpus dismissed. The court said that New York City Transit Authority employees are not exempt from the New York City Human Rights Law, and thus can be held liable for discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.

In the original February 2008 ruling Justice Robert J. Miller explained, “The Human Rights Law affords protection to transgender people in New York City. By riding the subway, a transgender person doesn’t become less of a person and lose the protection of the Human Rights Law.”