NCJ Number
108235
Date Published
1987
Length
15 pages
Annotation
After providing medical information on acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), this paper examines legal issues associated with the management of employees with AIDS.
Abstract
Medical information covers the nature of the disease, signs and symptoms, AIDS-related complex, antibody seropositivity, and transmission. The discussion of legal issues focuses on equal employment opportunities for AIDS victims and the relevance of the Federal 1974 Rehabilitation Act for employees with AIDS. Title V of the Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination against any handicapped employee who can perform the necessary job tasks. Although no court opinions have definitively construed Title V in relation to AIDS, the U.S. Justice Department has concluded that the disabling effects of AIDS, and in some cases of AIDS-related complex, may constitute a handicapping condition under the Rehabilitation Act. Also, a number of State courts and administrative tribunals have indicated a willingness to protect AIDS victims and persons infected with the virus. Some employer defenses against charges of discrimination against employees with AIDS are the employee's inability to perform job tasks and the employer's duty to protect coworkers and clients from exposure to the AIDS virus and to protect employees with AIDS from exposure to situations that may aggravate the disease. Employer protective measures that may undermine an AIDS patient's employment security, however, must be viewed from the perspective of authoritative medical opinion that AIDS cannot be transmitted through the casual contact characterizing the workplace. 64 footnotes.