AIDS in the Workplace

AIDS in the Workplace

There are approximately 40 ,000 new people affected by HIV every year in the United States . In 1990 , the U .S . Congress passed the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA , providing legal protection for people with AIDS in the workplace . With this statute in place , workers may feel confident that they would not face discrimination on the job after undergoing an HIV test (Vershbow . After all , the poor health of an individual is a sensitive issue . If America were to begin discriminating against workers who have AIDS or other

severe health problems , the economy of the nation would be affected adversely . Thus every company in the nation must be complying with the ADA . These requirements include the offering of reasonable accommodations to qualified workers with disabilities . What is more , it is a violation of the ADA to inform co-workers that an individual is suffering from HIV /AIDS , or any other illness or disability for that matter . Whoever violates this policy will be subject to disciplinary action , so therefore confidentiality must be protected at all costs ( Workplace Scenarios

It was in July of 1998 that the Supreme Court ruled in the Bragdon vs . Abbott case that HIV /AIDS is a disability . All the same , this disability could turn into a danger for others only when employees are exposed to human blood or bodily fluids , e .g . in a butcher 's shop where a person with AIDS might cut his hand accidentally with a knife , thereby contaminating the meat about to be sold to a member of society . In such cases , every company must comply with the provisions of the OSHA Rule on Occupational Exposure to Bloodborne Pathogens ( Workplace Scenarios .AIDS IN THE WORKPLACE

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So long as an employee 's poor health does not interfere with his or her ability to do the job safely and hygienically , there should be no discrimination in the workplace . Moreover , the ADA restricts medical testing and inquiries before an individual has been employed by a company . Apart from prohibiting pre-employment medical inquiries , the ADA dictates that broad based medical inquiries after making conditional offers of employment will only be permitted to a company if such inquiries would include all people in a similar situation , that is , all the people who have been made conditional offers of employment to Medical inquiry is also allowed when the employer must grant the employee 's request for a reasonable accommodation under the ADA Furthermore , medical inquiries are permitted when job-related concerns over safety and health call for them (as in the case of the butcher 's shop . Finally , once the company has made a medical inquiry into an employee 's health , it is the responsibility of the employer to guard the medical information about the employee at all costs . This information must be guarded in a separate , and not mixed with the employee 's non-medical personnel . The EEOC , which enforces the ADA with respect to private employers , explains that the company may only...