HIV & AIDS Laws and Policy
An Overview of Workplace Laws and Policies
Laws surrounding HIV/AIDS affect labor leaders, managers, and individuals differently and affect all aspects of founding, running, and maintaining an organization. An HIV/AIDS workplace policy is a sound first step in incorporating relevant policies and procedures into the workplace and alerting your workforce or members to regulations.
The following laws must be kept in mind when making decisions that affect any staff/worker with HIV/AIDS:
There are also important issues to consider when determining the extent to which HIV workplace programming will occur. Some of these issues include:
Labor Leaders
- The union's role in the development of a workplace policy on HIV/AIDS
- Information on laws that may protect workers with disabilities, including HIV/AIDS, from discrimination
- The union's own legal obligations under ADA and other laws toward its members
- Labor organization's level of commitment and resources to address HIV/AIDS
Managers
- Federal and state laws, as well as antidiscrimination laws, that affect staff/workers
- The cost of HIV/AIDS and how it affects productivity
- How to avoid problems concerning HIV/AIDS in the workplace
- Organization's level of commitment and resources to address HIV/AIDS workplace efforts
Individuals
- Your rights in requesting reasonable accommodation and obligations for providing lawfully requested medical information
- Your organization's policy or position on HIV/AIDS and procedures for handling HIV/AIDS-related problems and concerns
- Your willingness to become a workplace champion to support HIV awareness and prevention efforts in the workplace
- The amount of time and resources you can commit to HIV awareness and prevention activities within your community
