By Daniel Wiessner and Phil Stewart
(Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Defense will consider granting honorable discharges to more than 30,000 gay and bisexual veterans who were barred from serving in the military because of their sexual orientation, legal filings showed on Monday.
Honorable discharges could make the veterans eligible for medical and other benefits.
The department and five plaintiffs jointly moved for approval of a settlement that would end a 2023 proposed class action claiming that the servicemembers' constitutional rights to due process and equal protection were violated. The Defense Department denied wrongdoing.
A Pentagon policy known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell (WA:OEXP)", which was in place from 1993 to 2011, barred openly gay and bisexual people from military service and provided for "other than honorable" discharges of those who revealed their sexual orientation.
Under the settlement filed in San Francisco federal court, the Defense Department would create a streamlined process for veterans to have their sexual orientation removed from discharge paperwork. The department also agreed to review requests to upgrade veterans' discharges to honorable.
Chelsea Corey of law firm Haynes Boone, one of the lead attorneys in the case, told Reuters that including veterans' sexual orientation on the paperwork demonstrated intentional discrimination.
Discharges listed as "other than honorable" can bar veterans from receiving various benefits including healthcare, loans, job opportunities and tuition assistance.
Corey noted the settlement would allow some of those affected to finally access veterans' medical and other benefits.
The deal must be approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Spero, who is scheduled to hold a hearing on Feb. 12.
The Defense Department and the U.S. Department of Justice did not respond to requests for comment.
About 14,000 people were discharged from the military under Don't Ask, Don't Tell. More than 20,000 others had been discharged since 1980 because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, according to filings in the lawsuit.