Photo via Passport.

American Airlines announced today that it will offer new health coverage for transgender AMR Corporation employees, further expanding its partnership with the LGBT community. This announcement is huge, because it adds coverage for gender reassignment surgery, which is a rarity in the world of insurance. The health care will also ensure that same-sex domestic partners are included under Family and Medical Leaves of Absence.

“American Airlines continually evaluates all of our benefits programs including health insurance coverage for our employees and retirees. We take special pride in knowing we were the first airline to implement same-sex partner health benefits, and also the first airline to add gender identity nondiscrimination to our employment policies. These latest changes are one way we hope to ensure we remain the employer of choice for the best qualified candidates,” said Lauri Curtis, American Airline’s Vice President of Diversity, Leadership & Engagement.

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