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The City of New York has been hit with a lawsuit alleging discrimination against gay male city employees in its health insurance coverage.

Filed in Manhattan federal court on Thursday, the legal action comes from former assistant district attorney Corey Briskin and his husband. The couple argues they postponed their family plans for years due to the city’s employee health plan, which denied them coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures. According to the lawsuit, the insurance policy restricts IVF treatment to employees who are infertile—a condition defined narrowly by the plan, explicitly excluding gay men.

The legal challenge came as the New York City Council reviewed a bill proposed in March. This legislation aims to extend IVF coverage to all municipal employees, irrespective of their marital status or sexual orientation.

According to Peter Romer-Friedman, a lawyer for the couple, “No court has yet opined on the issue of whether gay men can be denied IVF benefits given to other employees.”

Accusations in the lawsuit include violations of federal, state, and city anti-discrimination laws and breaches of the equal protection and due process clauses of the US Constitution. Should the class be approved, it could represent thousands, with New York City’s employee roster numbering around 300,000 and the health plan covering approximately 1.25 million individuals.