AIDS Employment

idmhr

I need some help! I have a Client, who has a meat packing business.
I am in the process of reduing his personnel policies. Since his business is in the food area,we are very concerned about hiring people who might have AIDS or some other kind of communicable disease. We are arware of the law that protects a person rights. Is there any way that we can put something in his personnel Ploicy?

Bob G

Don D

It sounds as if you are a consulting firm or 'farm-out' HR business. In that case, you should have a competent labor law attorney guiding your overall practices and compliance with federal/state laws. He/she should be consulted.

If you get advice from the Forum on such a critical issue, and it happens to be wrong, or if it's right and you don't follow it correctly, it could immediately wreck your whole business and wipe out everything you've accumulated for the past 20 years!

Balloonman

First off, you would have to know the individual in infected with HIV. Most likely, and I could be wrong, if they have AIDS, they will not be able to work as that comes after HIV and usually results in death. I am not 100% certain, so please be gentle if I am wrong. Now lets talk about HIV.
Picture this scenario, you interview someone, want to hire them, offer them the job, they accept and then tell you by the way, I have HIV. What can you do? Legally nothing. I have been there. So far this person has excelled and been promoted.
Now lets look at how you can "catch" or be contaminated with this or any other like disease, I am thinking hepatitis which is a much greater hazard in the food industry. (I have worked at a meat plant) HIV can only be passed to individuals though an exchange of bodily fluid. SO if you have a proper sanitation program, and Bloodborne Pathogens program you should have no issues. This individual will not allow anyone else to get near him if he gets cut, and his biggest concern is the infecting of others. I can only imagine most are like this.
Fact is you have no way to tell if someone has an infectious disease, and secondly once the offer is made, you have no way of withdrawing it without being sued, because you would have discriminated against this person. This is why it is so critical that medical record access in limited. I am the only one who knows this information. And yes, there are times it weighs heavy on my mind.
My $0.02 worth.
DJ The Balloonman