The Legislature and several local governments cannot join the fight against a lawsuit seeking taxpayer funded benefits for partners of gay public employees, a judge ruled on Friday.
Dane County Circuit Judge David Flanagan ruled that state law gives the Department of Justice the authority to defend the state’s interests, and the department is already doing so in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by six lesbian state employees and the American Civil Liberties Union in April, claims the state’s refusal to provide health insurance to their partners violates the equal protection clause of the Wisconsin constitution. The lawsuit names several state agencies as defendants, but not the Legislature.