NCJ Number
110968
Journal
Willamette Law Review Volume: 23 Issue: 3 Dated: (Fall 1987) Pages: 857-936
Date Published
1987
Length
80 pages
Annotation
This paper presents a methodology for analyzing whether persons infected with the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) virus are protected from employment discrimination under Section 504 of the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
Abstract
The statutory and regulatory framework of the Act requires that courts perform an individualized analysis of each handicap discrimination claim to determine if a claimant falls within required parameters. Recently, attempts have been made to limit coverage of the Act through various forms of exclusion. In School Board of Nassau County v. Arline, the U.S. Supreme Court established that exclusions are not appropriate unless they are expressly provided for within the statutory framework. In Arline, the Court expressed its unwillingness to treat individuals infected with a communicable disease (tuberculosis) differently from those afflicted with a noncommunicable disease. Thus, persons with the AIDS virus should not be singled out and discriminated against because of an irrational fear of contagion. Instead, a rational approach, applicable to all types of communicable disease, should be used to determine if a person with the AIDS virus actually represents a significant risk to the safety of others. Once an individual is qualified under the Act, an integrated analysis, consistent with the Act and Arline, is needed to determine the nature, duration, and severity of the risk and the probabilities that the disease will be transmitted and cause varying degrees of harm. 236 footnotes.