NCJ Number
126511
Date Published
1989
Length
76 pages
Annotation
How the handicap discrimination law applies to AIDS is reviewed, as well as policies for businesses regarding employees with AIDS.
Abstract
An attempt in Congress during 1988 to enact a Federal law against AIDS-related discrimination did not survive subcommittee deliberations in the House, but it seems likely that a proposal to amend the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to cover handicap discrimination may eventually succeed, so general handicap discrimination laws, rather than AIDS-specific laws, may well remain the principal means of addressing AIDS-related discrimination. A model AIDS employment policy would include the following principles: (1) People with AIDS or HIV infection are entitled to the same rights and opportunities as people with other serious or life-threatening illnesses; (2) The highest levels of management and union leadership should unequivocally endorse nondiscriminatory employment policies and educational programs about AIDS; and (3) Employers have a duty to protect the confidentiality of employees' medical information. Also, employers should not require HIV screening as part of general pre-employment or workplace physical examinations.