NCJ Number
108608
Journal
Labor Law Journal Volume: 38 Issue: 11 Dated: (November 1987) Pages: 702-707
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 1987 in School Board of Nassau County, Florida v. Arline shows that under Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973, some employees suffering from contagious diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS may be eligible for protection as 'qualified handicapped.'
Abstract
However, contagiousness, of and by itself, is not sufficient to establish handicap. Discrimination against a handicapped person solely on the basis of that handicap is illegal, but discrimination against a carrier of a contagious disease may not be illegal. The Arline case involved an elementary school teacher who was dismissed after the reoccurrence of tuberculosis. The district court ruled against Arline, but the appeals court and the Supreme Court ruled in her favor. Like all Federal court rulings, this ruling affects only those parties that are subject to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, including employers with a Federal contract of $2,500 or more, subcontractors of such an employer, or employers who take part in any Federally funded program. In making decisions about employees with AIDS, employers must first determine whether they are subject to the Federal law. It must next determine whether the disease constitutes a physical impairment, whether the employee is otherwise qualified for the job, the likelihood that the disease will be transmitted in the workplace, and, if the employee is determined to be highly contagious, whether the employer can make reasonable accommodations for the employee. 20 footnotes.