Franklin County has expanded the health care benefits available to their employees.
Starting this month county employees who identify as transgender can receive coverage for gender reassignment surgery, hormone treatment and therapy. According the Society for Human Resource Management just 5 percent of US companies and government entities offer transgender-inclusive heath care coverage. Commissioner Marilyn Brown says the addition will help the county attract and retain quality employees.
"We knew we had some people that were working in the county that were going through transition or thinking about it and we want to keep them," said Brown.
Similar benefits have been available for city of Columbus workers since 2014. Brown says this move is consistent with a recent resolution that bans unnecessary travel for Franklin County employees to North Carolina, where new laws discriminate against the LGBTQ community.