San Francisco city will pay for sex change operations for its workers after the board of supervisors voted 9-2, the minimum vote required to approve the proposal, according to the Associated Press.

The proposal, which awaits the signature of Mayor Willie Brown, would make San Francisco the only city in the United States to pay for transgendered employees' medical expenses.

The sex change benefits which has a lifetime cap of US$50,000 per individual, will include surgical procedures, hormone treatment and therapy.

The state of Minnesota offered similar benefits but the program was phased out in 1998 while Oregon decided against offering benefits in 1999.