Developed by QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS:
Civil
Rights Division AND PERSONS WITH HIV/AIDS
Disability
Rights Section
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I. Introduction
1. Q:
What is the
2. Q:
Are people with HIV or AIDS protected by the
II. Employment
1. Q:
What employers are covered by the
2. Q:
What employment practices are covered by the
3. Q:
Who is protected by the employment provisions of the
4. Q:
What is an "essential function" of the job?
5. Q:
What is a "reasonable accommodation"?
6. Q:
Does an employer always have to provide a needed reasonable
accommodation?
7. Q:
When is an employer required to make a reasonable accommodation?
8. Q:
What if an employer has concerns about an applicant’s ability to do the
job in the future?
9. Q:
Can an employer consider health and safety when deciding whether to hire
an applicant or retain an employee who has HIV/AIDS?
10. Q:
When can an employer inquire into an applicant’s or employee’s HIV
status?
11. Q:
What obligations does an employer have if an employee discloses his or
her HIV status?
12. Q:
What obligations does an employer have to provide health insurance to
employees with HIV/AIDS?
13. Q:
What can an applicant or employee do if he or she believes that he or
she is being discriminated against on the basis of his or her HIV status?
1. Q:
What is a public accommodation?
2. Q:
What constitutes discrimination?
3. Q:
What types of changes in policies, practices, or procedures would a
public accommodation have to make to ensure equal access to persons with HIV/AIDS?
4. Q:
Are health care providers required to treat all persons with HIV/AIDS,
regardless of whether the treatment being sought is within the provider’s area
of expertise?
5. Q:
What types of communication aids and services would a public accommodation
be required to provide to persons with HIV/AIDS?
6. Q:
Can a public accommodation charge for reasonable modifications in its
policies, practices, or procedures, or for the provision of communication aids
and services?
7. Q:
Can a public accommodation exclude a person with HIV/AIDS because that
person allegedly poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others?
8. Q:
What types of physical barriers to access is a public accommodation
required to remove? Why is this
important to persons with HIV/AIDS?
9. Q:
What can a person do if he or she is being discriminated against by a
place of public accommodation on the basis of his or her HIV status?
1. Q:
Does the
2. Q:
What can a person do if he or she is being discriminated against by a
State or local government on the basis of his or her HIV status?
V. Telecommunications,
Housing, Air Transportation
1. Q:
What is a relay service?
2. Q:
Does the
3. Q:
Does the
VI. Resources
________________________________________________
1. Q:
What is the
A: The
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) gives federal civil rights protections to
individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the
basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for
individuals with disabilities in public accommodations, employment,
transportation, State and local government services, and telecommunications.
2. Q:
Are people with HIV or AIDS protected by the
A:
Yes. An individual is considered
to have a "disability" if he or she has a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, has a
record of such an impairment, or is regarded as having such an impairment. Persons with HIV disease, both symptomatic
and asymptomatic, have physical impairments that substantially limit one or
more major life activities and are, therefore, protected by the law.
Persons who are
discriminated against because they are regarded as being HIV-positive are also
protected. For example, a person who was
fired on the basis of a rumor that he had AIDS, even if he did not, would be
protected by the law.
Moreover, the
1. Q:
What employers are covered by the
A:
The
2. Q:
What employment practices are covered by the
A:
The
- An automobile
manufacturing company that had a blanket policy of refusing to hire anyone
infected with the AIDS virus.
- An airline that
extended an offer to a job applicant and then rescinded the offer when, after
the applicant took an HIV test as part of the airline’s required medical
examination, the applicant tested positive for HIV.
- A restaurant that
fired a waitress after learning that the waitress had HIV.
- A university that
fired a physical education instructor after learning that the instructor’s
boyfriend had AIDS.
- A company that
contracted with an insurance company that had a cap on health insurance
benefits provided to employees for HIV-related complications, but not on other
health insurance benefits.
3. Q:
Who is protected by the employment provisions of the
A:
The
4. Q:
What is an "essential function" of the job?
A:
Essential functions of the job are those core duties that are the reason
the job position exists. For example, an
essential function of a typist’s position is the ability to type; an essential
function of a bus driver’s position is the ability to drive.
Requiring the ability
to perform "essential" functions assures that an individual with a
disability will not be considered unqualified because of his or her inability
to perform marginal or incidental job functions.
5. Q:
What is a "reasonable accommodation"?
A:
A "reasonable accommodation" is any modification or adjustment
to a job, the job application process, or the work environment that will enable
a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to perform the essential
functions of the job, participate in the application process, or enjoy the
benefits and privileges of employment.
Examples of "reasonable accommodations" include: making
existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by employees with
disabilities; restructuring a job; modifying work schedules; acquiring or
modifying equipment; and reassigning a current employee to a vacant position
for which the individual is qualified.
For example:
- An HIV-positive
accountant required two hours off, bimonthly, for visits to his doctor. He was permitted to take longer lunch breaks
and to make up the time by working later on those days.
- A supermarket
check-out clerk with AIDS had difficulty standing for long periods of
time. Her employer provided her with a
stool so that she could sit down at the cash register when necessary.
- A secretary with AIDS
needed to take frequent rest breaks during her work day. Her boss allowed her to take as many breaks
as she needed throughout the day, so long as she completed her work before
going home each evening.
- A machine operator
required time off from work during his hospitalization with pneumocystis
carinii pneumonia. He had already used
up all his sick leave. His employer
allowed him to either take leave without pay, or to use his accrued vacation
leave.
- An HIV-positive
computer programmer suffered bouts of nausea caused by his medication. His employer allowed him to work at home on
those days that he found it too difficult to come into the office. His employer provided him with the equipment
(computer, modem, fax machine, etc.) necessary for him to work at home.
- An HIV-positive
newspaper editor who tired easily from walking began to use an electric scooter
to get around. His employer installed a
ramp at the entrance to the building in which the editor worked so that the
editor could use his scooter at the office.
6. Q:
Does an employer always have to provide a needed reasonable
accommodation?
A:
An employer is not required to make an accommodation if it would impose
an undue hardship on the operation of the business. An undue hardship is an action that requires
"significant difficulty or expense" in relation to the size of the
employer, the resources available, and the nature of the operation. Determination as to whether a particular
accommodation poses an undue hardship must be made on a case-by-case basis.
Customer or co-worker
attitudes are not relevant. The
potential loss of customers or co-workers because an employee has HIV/AIDS does
not constitute an undue hardship.
An employer is not
required to provide an employee’s first choice of accommodation. The employer is, however, required to provide
an effective accommodation, i.e., an accommodation that meets the individual’s
needs.
7. Q:
When is an employer required to make a reasonable accommodation?
A:
An employer is only required to accommodate a "known"
disability of a qualified applicant or employee. Thus, it is the employee’s responsibility to
tell the employer that he or she needs a reasonable accommodation. If the employee does not want to disclose
that he or she has HIV or AIDS, it may be sufficient for the employee to say
that he or she has an illness or disability covered by the ADA, that the
illness or disability causes certain problems with work, and that the employee
wants a reasonable accommodation.
However, an employer can require medical documentation of the employee’s
disability and the limitations resulting from that disability.
8. Q:
What if an employer has concerns about an applicant’s ability to do the
job in the future?
A:
Employers cannot choose not to hire a qualified person now because they
fear the worker will become too ill to work in the future. The hiring decision must be based on how well
the individual can perform now. In
addition, employers cannot decide to not hire qualified people with HIV or AIDS
because they are afraid of higher medical insurance costs, worker’s
compensation costs, or absenteeism.
9. Q:
Can an employer consider health and safety when deciding whether to hire
an applicant or retain an employee who has HIV/AIDS?
A:
Yes, but only under limited circumstances. The ADA permits employers to establish
qualification standards that will exclude individuals who pose a direct threat
-- i.e., a significant risk of substantial harm -- to the health or safety of
the individual or of others, if that risk cannot be eliminated or reduced below
the level of a "direct threat" by reasonable accommodation. However, an employer may not simply assume
that a threat exists; the employer must establish through objective, medically
supportable methods that there is a significant risk that substantial harm
could occur in the workplace. By
requiring employers to make individualized judgments based on reliable medical
or other objective evidence -- rather than on generalizations, ignorance, fear,
patronizing attitudes, or stereotypes -- the ADA recognizes the need to balance
the interests of people with disabilities against the legitimate interests of
employers in maintaining a safe workplace.
Transmission of HIV
will rarely be a legitimate "direct threat" issue. It is medically established that HIV can only
be transmitted by sexual contact with an infected individual, exposure to
infected blood or blood products, or perinatally from an infected mother to
infant during pregnancy, birth, or breast feeding. HIV cannot be transmitted by casual contact. Thus, there is little possibility that HIV
could ever be transmitted in the workplace.
For example:
- A superintendent may
believe that there is a risk of employing an individual with HIV disease as a
schoolteacher. However, there is little
or no likelihood of a direct exchange of body fluids between the teacher and
her students, and thus, employing this person would not pose a direct threat.
- A restaurant owner
may believe that there is a risk of employing an individual with HIV disease as
a cook, waiter or waitress, or dishwasher, because the employee might transmit
the disease through the handling of food.
However, HIV and AIDS are specifically not included on the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention ("CDC") list of infectious and
communicable diseases that are transmitted through the handling of food. Thus, there is little or no likelihood that
employing persons with HIV/AIDS in food handling positions would pose a risk of
transmitting HIV.
- A fire chief may
believe that an HIV-infected firefighter may pose a risk to others when
performing mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
However, current medical evidence indicates that HIV cannot be
transmitted by the exchange of saliva.
Thus, there is little or no likelihood that an HIV-infected firefighter
would pose a risk to others.
Having HIV or AIDS, however,
might impair an individual’s ability to perform certain functions of a job,
thus causing the individual to pose a direct threat to the health or safety of
the individual or others.
For example:
- A worker who operates
heavy machinery and who has been suffering from dizzy spells caused by the
medication he is taking might pose a direct threat to his or someone else’s
safety. If no reasonable accommodation
is available (e.g., an open position to which the employee could be
reassigned), the employer would not violate the ADA by laying the worker off.
- An airline pilot who
is experiencing bouts of dementia would pose a direct threat to herself and her
passengers safety. It would not violate
the ADA if the airline prohibited her from flying.
As noted above, the
direct threat assessment must be an individualized assessment. Any blanket exclusion -- for example,
refusing to hire persons with HIV/AIDS because of the attendant health risks --
would probably violate the ADA as a matter of law.
10. Q: When can an employer inquire into an
applicant’s or employee’s HIV status?
A:
An employer may not ask or require a job applicant to take a medical
examination before making a job offer.
It cannot make any pre-offer inquiry about a disability or the nature or
severity of a disability. An employer
may, however, ask questions about the ability to perform specific job
functions. Thus, for example, the owner
of an outdoor cafe could not ask an individual with KS lesions who was applying
for the position of a waiter whether the applicant had AIDS. The owner could, however, ask the applicant
whether he can be in the sun for extended periods of time.
An employer may
condition a job offer on the satisfactory result of a post-offer medical
examination or medical inquiry if this is required of all entering employees in
the same job category. However, if an
individual is not hired because a post-offer medical examination or inquiry
reveals a disability, the reason(s) for not hiring must be job-related and consistent
with business necessity. HIV-positive
status alone, without some accompanying complication (e.g., dementia, loss of
vision, etc.) can almost never be the basis for a refusal to hire after a
post-offer medical examination.
After a person starts
work, a medical examination or inquiry of an employee must be job-related and
consistent with business necessity.
Employers may conduct employee medical examinations where there is
evidence of a job performance or safety problem, when examinations are required
by other Federal laws, when examinations are necessary to determine current
"fitness" to perform a particular job, and/or where voluntary
examinations are part of employee health programs. For example, an employer could not ask an employee
who had lesions on his face or who had recently lost a significant amount of
weight, but whose job performance had not changed in any way, whether the
employee had AIDS. An employer could,
however, require an employee who was experiencing frequent dizzy spells, and
whose work was suffering as a result, to undergo a medical examination.
11. Q:
What obligations does an employer have if an employee discloses his or
her HIV status?
A:
The ADA requires that medical information be kept confidential. This information must be kept apart from
general personnel files as a separate, confidential medical record available
only under limited conditions.
12. Q:
What obligations does an employer have to provide health insurance to
employees with HIV/AIDS?
A:
The ADA prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of
disability in the provision of health insurance to their employees and/or from
entering into contracts with health insurance companies that discriminate on
the basis of disability. Insurance
distinctions that are not based on disability, however, and that are applied
equally to all insured employees, do not discriminate on the basis of
disability and do not violate the ADA.
Thus, for example,
blanket pre-existing condition clauses that exclude from the coverage of a
health insurance plan the treatment of all physical conditions that predate an
individual’s eligibility for benefits are not distinctions based on disability
and do not violate the ADA. A
pre-existing condition clause that excluded only the treatment of HIV-related
conditions, however, is a disability-based distinction and would likely violate
the
Similarly, a health
insurance plan that capped benefits for the treatment of all physical
conditions at $50,000 per year does not make disability-based distinctions and
does not violate the
13. Q:
What can an applicant or employee do if he or she believes that he or
she is being discriminated against on the basis of his or her HIV status?
A:
An applicant or employee who believes that he or she is the victim of
HIV discrimination should first try to explain to his or her employer what the
For more information
about the
1. Q:
What is a public accommodation?
A:
A public accommodation is a private entity that owns, operates, leases,
or leases to a place of public accommodation.
Places of public accommodation include a wide range of entities, such as
restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors offices, dentists offices, hospitals,
retail stores, health clubs, museums, libraries, private schools, and day care
centers. Private clubs and places run by
religious organizations are not considered places of public accommodation.
2. Q:
What constitutes discrimination?
A: Discrimination
is the failure to give a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use
or enjoy the public accommodation’s goods, services, or facilities. Examples of
- A dentist who
categorically refused to treat all persons with HIV/AIDS.
- A moving company that
refused to move the belongings of a person who had AIDS, or that refused to
move the belongings of a person whose neighbor had AIDS.
- A health club that
charged extra fees to persons who were HIV-positive, or that prohibited
HIV-positive members from using the steam room or sauna, or that limited the
hours during which HIV-positive members could use the club’s facilities.
- A day care center
that categorically refused admission to HIV-positive children or the children
of HIV-positive mothers.
- A funeral home that
refused to provide funeral services for a person who died from AIDS-related
complications.
- A building owner who
refused to lease space to a not-for-profit organization that provided services
to persons living with HIV/AIDS.
The
3. Q:
What types of changes in policies, practices, or procedures would a public
accommodation have to make to ensure equal access to persons with HIV/AIDS?
A:
Even though a public accommodation may not intend to discriminate
against persons with HIV/AIDS, its customary way of doing business may
unintentionally exclude persons with HIV/AIDS or provide them with lesser
services. If reasonable modifications in
the business policies, practices, or procedures would rectify the problem, the
public accommodation would be required to make those changes.
For example:
- A hotel does not
allow pets. It would be a reasonable
modification of the hotel’s policy to allow a person who has lost his vision
from cytomegalovirus retinitis (CMV), an AIDS-related illness, to have his
guide dog stay with him in the hotel.
- A pharmacy requires
customers to stand in line to be served.
A person with AIDS finds it too tiring to stand in line. It would be a reasonable modification of the
pharmacy’s procedures to allow the person to announce her presence and/or take
a number and then sit down until her prescription is filled. It would also be a reasonable modification if
the pharmacy provided curbside service and/or home delivery.
4. Q:
Are health care providers required to treat all persons with HIV/AIDS,
regardless of whether the treatment being sought is within the provider’s area
of expertise?
A:
No. A health care provider is not
required to treat a person who is seeking or requires treatment or services
outside the provider’s area of expertise.
However, a health care provider cannot simply refer a patient with
HIV/AIDS to another provider simply because the patient has HIV/AIDS. The referral must be based on the treatment
the patient is seeking, not the patient’s HIV status alone.
For example:
- An HIV-positive
individual suffers a severe allergic drug reaction while on vacation and goes
to the nearest emergency room. The
hospital routinely treats people suffering from allergic drug reactions. Sending the patient to another hospital that
allegedly has an "AIDS unit" would violate the ADA.
- An HIV-positive
individual is in a car accident and suffers severe third degree burns. He is taken to the nearest hospital, which
does not have a burn unit. Sending the
patient to another hospital that has a burn unit would not violate the ADA.
- A person with AIDS
goes to the dentist for a teeth cleaning.
The dentist refers her to another dentist because the dentist claims he
is "not equipped" to treat persons with AIDS. Because there is no special equipment
necessary for providing routine dental care to persons with HIV/AIDS, this
"referral" would violate the ADA.
- A person with AIDS
goes to the dentist because she has an oral lesion on the roof of her
mouth. The dentist tells the patient
that she has a lesion that the dentist is not able to identify and does not
know how to treat. The dentist refers
the patient to an oral surgeon for diagnosis and treatment of the lesion, with
the understanding that the patient will return to the dentist for the provision
of routine dental care. This would not
violate the ADA.
5. Q:
What types of communication aids and services would a public
accommodation be required to provide to persons with HIV/AIDS?
A:
A public accommodation is required to provide auxiliary aids and
services where necessary to ensure effective communication with individuals
with disabilities, unless an undue burden (i.e., a significant difficulty or
expense) or fundamental alteration would result. Thus, if a person with HIV or AIDS has an
impairment -- such as a vision, hearing, or speech impairment-- that
substantially limits his or her ability to communicate, the public
accommodation must provide auxiliary aids or services that will ensure equal
access to the goods, services, or facilities that the public accommodation
offers. The impairment can be one that
the person has had from birth, or one that has recently developed as a result
of an AIDS-related complication.
The type of auxiliary
aid or service necessary to ensure effective communication will vary in
accordance with the length and complexity of the communication involved. Some examples of auxiliary aids and services
are -- exchanging written notes, typing back and forth on a computer, providing
a qualified sign language interpreter, or having a telecommunication device for
deaf persons (TDD) for customers with hearing impairments; reading aloud,
providing large print, audiotapes, or braille materials, or locating
merchandise for customers with vision impairments; and using TDD s or computer
terminals for persons with speech impairments.
For example:
- A person who was born
deaf and uses American Sign Language as his primary means of communication goes
to his physician to receive the results of his HIV test. The test results have come back
positive. The physician may be required
to obtain and pay for a sign language interpreter, as the communication between
the physician and his patient is likely to be lengthy and complex and may only
be effective if a sign language interpreter is provided.
- A person with AIDS
has recently lost his vision as a result of an AIDS-related complication. It would be appropriate for a restaurant
waiter to read aloud the contents of the menu.
6. Q:
Can a public accommodation charge for reasonable modifications in its
policies, practices, or procedures, or for the provision of communication aids
and services?
A:
No. A public accommodation may
not impose a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any
group of individuals with disabilities to cover the costs necessary to provide
nondiscriminatory treatment.
For example:
- A law firm routinely
prepares wills and trusts. A woman with
AIDS who recently has suffered vision loss requests that the firm draft her
will and guardianship papers, and requests that the firm provide her with all
drafts of her documents in large print.
The law firm cannot charge the woman extra for preparing the documents
in large print.
7. Q:
Can a public accommodation exclude a person with HIV/AIDS because that
person allegedly poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others?
A:
In almost every instance, the answer to this question is no. Persons
with HIV/AIDS will rarely, if ever, pose a direct threat in the public
accommodations context.
A public accommodation
may exclude an individual with a disability from participation in an activity,
if that individual’s participation would result in a direct threat to the
health or safety of others. "Direct
threat," however, is defined as a "significant risk to the health or
safety of others" that cannot be eliminated or reduced to an acceptable
level by reasonable modifications to the public accommodation’s policies,
practices, or procedures, or by the provision of appropriate auxiliary aids or
services. The determination that a
person poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others may not be based
on generalizations or stereotypes about the effects of a particular disability;
it must be based on an individual assessment that considers the particular
activity and the actual abilities and disabilities of the individual. The individual assessment must be based on
reasonable judgment that relies on current medical evidence.
For example:
- A restaurant’s
refusal to admit an individual with AIDS would violate the ADA, because HIV
cannot be transmitted through the casual contact typical among restaurant
patrons.
- A gynecologist’s
refusal to treat an HIV-positive woman would be a violation. Health care providers are required to treat
all persons as if they are infectious for HIV and other bloodborne pathogens,
and must use universal precautions (gloves, mask, gown, etc.) to protect
themselves from the transmission of infectious diseases. Failure to treat a person who acknowledges
her HIV-positive status would be a violation, because so long as the physician
utilizes universal precautions, it is safe to treat persons with HIV/AIDS.
- A day care center’s
refusal to admit a child who is HIV-positive, because of the fear that the
child might bite and might therefore transmit HIV to other children, is also a
violation. It is incorrect to assume
that all young children bite. Moreover,
current medical evidence indicates that HIV is not transmitted by saliva. Even if an HIV-positive child were to bite
another child, the only bodily fluid that would be transmitted from the
infected child to the non-infected child would be saliva.
- A health club’s
revocation of an HIV-positive person’s membership, because of the fear that the
person may transmit the virus through the sweat he leaves on the club’s weight
machines, also violates the ADA. There
is no evidence that HIV can be transmitted by sweat.
8. Q:
What types of physical barriers to access is a public accommodation
required to remove? Why is this
important to persons with HIV/AIDS?
A:
Persons with HIV or AIDS may find that they have less strength to open
doors, or may tire more easily when walking or climbing stairs. They may use a wheelchair, electric scooter,
or other device for mobility purposes.
The ADA’s barrier removal requirements address these situations.
The ADA requires that
public accommodations remove all physical barriers to access in their existing
facilities, where it is "readily achievable" to do so. "Readily achievable" means
"easily accomplishable and able to be carried out without much difficulty
or expense."
Examples of barrier
removal may include installing ramps, making curb cuts in sidewalks and
entrances, rearranging furniture, widening doors, installing accessible door
hardware, and installing grab bars in toilet stalls. The obligation to engage in readily
achievable barrier removal is a continuing one.
The ADA requires that
all newly constructed places of public accommodation be readily accessible to
and usable by individuals with disabilities.
The ADA also requires that all alterations made to existing facilities
be readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
9. Q:
What can a person do if he or she is being discriminated against by a
place of public accommodation on the basis of his or her HIV status?
A:
A person who believes that he or she is being discriminated against
should first try to educate the manager or owner of the public accommodation
about what the ADA requires. The person
should suggest reasonable policy changes that will provide equal access,
request a communication aid, or ask that a barrier be removed. An individual may also wish to seek out
mediation services provided by community or private mediation services. If the
situation is not resolved satisfactorily, a complaint may be filed with the
Department of Justice.
The Department of
Justice is authorized to investigate complaints and to bring lawsuits in cases
of general public importance, or where there is a "pattern or
practice" of discrimination. Due to
resource limitations, the Department is unable to investigate every
complaint. The Department may seek injunctive
relief (i.e., having the public accommodation correct its discriminatory
practices), money damages, and civil penalties.
Complaints should be sent to the following address:
Disability Rights
Section
Civil Rights Division
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, D.C.
20035-6738
The Ohio Civil Rights
Commission can also investigate complaints of discrimination in places of
public accommodation. Call the
Commission at (888) 278-7101.
Individuals are also entitled to bring private lawsuits. If a person files a private lawsuit, he or
she may not seek money damages. However,
the person may seek injunctive relief and attorney’s fees and costs.
IV.
State and Local Governments
1. Q:
Does the ADA also prohibit State and local governments from
discriminating against persons with HIV/AIDS?
A:
Yes. The ADA applies to all State
and local governments, their departments and agencies, and any other
instrumentalities or special purpose districts of State or local governments.
For example:
- A public school
system may not prohibit an HIV-positive child from attending elementary school.
- A county hospital may
not refuse to treat persons with HIV/AIDS.
- A local police
station must make sure that TDD users, including persons with HIV/AIDS, can
call 911 and other emergency phone numbers directly, without having to go
through a relay system.
- A city emergency
medical technician may not refuse to transport a person with AIDS.
- A state-owned nursing
home may not refuse to accept patients with HIV/AIDS.
- A county recreation
center may not refuse admission to a summer camp program to a child whose
brother has AIDS.
2. Q:
What can a person do if he or she is being discriminated against by a
State or local government on the basis of his or her HIV status?
A:
A person who believes he or she is being discriminated against by a
State or local government should first try to educate officials involved about
the ADA’s requirements. Individuals may
also file a complaint with the Department of Justice. Complaints must be filed within 180 days of
when the discrimination occurred.
Complaints should be sent to the following address:
U. S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights
Section
Post Office Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035-6738
Individuals are also
entitled to bring private ADA lawsuits against State and local governments and
seek injunctive relief, compensatory damages, and reasonable attorney s fees.
V. Telecommunications, Housing, Air
Transportation
1. Q:
What is a relay service?
A:
Telecommunications relay services bridge the gap between TDD users -- including
persons with HIV/AIDS who have recently experienced hearing loss -- and regular
voice telephone users. The relay service
enables persons who have TDD’s to carry on telephone conversations with persons
who do not, through use of an intermediary person -- the relay operator. The relay operator reads the TDD message to
the person without the TDD and types the person’s spoken message back to the
TDD user.
The ADA requires the
telephone industry to provide free telephone relay service through 800 numbers. The relay service must be available
twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, without restrictions on the type,
length, or number of calls made by any relay user.
2. Q:
Does the ADA prohibit discrimination in the sale, rental, and other terms
of housing?
A:
Housing discrimination is not covered by the ADA. However, the Fair Housing Amendments Act of
1988, which is primarily enforced by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development, prohibits housing discrimination against persons with
disabilities, including persons with HIV/AIDS.
Persons who believe that they have been discriminated against in housing
because of their HIV-positive status should contact their State or local
government’s Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Office.
3. Q:
Does the ADA prohibit discrimination by airlines?
A:
Discrimination by air carriers in areas other than employment is not
covered by the ADA, but rather, by the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). Persons who believe that they have been discriminated
against by airlines because of their HIV-positive status should contact the
U.S. Department of Transportation.
The following section
provides the telephone numbers of federal agencies providing information on the
ADA, as well as the telephone numbers of other federal agencies providing
information of interest to persons living with HIV/AIDS.
Department of Justice
offers technical assistance on the ADA Standards for Accessible Design and
other ADA provisions applying to businesses, non-profit service agencies, and
state and local government programs; also provides information on how to file
ADA complaints.
ADA Information Line
for documents and questions
800-514-0301
(Voice) 800-514-0383 (TDD)
Electronic bulletin
board 202-514-6193
DOJ World Wide Web Home
Page http://www.usdoj.gov
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission offers technical assistance on the ADA provisions
applying to employment; also provides information on how to file ADA
complaints.
Employment questions
800-669-4000
(Voice) 800-669-6820 (TDD)
Employment documents
800-669-3362
(Voice) 800-800-3302 (TDD)
Department of
Transportation offers technical assistance on ADA provisions applying to public
transportation and air carrier access.
ADA documents and
questions
202-366-1656
(Voice) 202-366-4567 (TDD)
ADA legal questions
202-366-1936
(Voice) TDD: use relay service
ADA complaints and
enforcement
202-366-2285
(Voice) 202-366-0153 (TDD)
Electronic bulletin
board 202-366-3764
Air Carrier Access Act
questions
202-366-4859
(voice) TDD: use relay service
ACAA complaints and
enforcement
202-267-5794
(voice) 202-267-9730 (TDD)
Federal Communications
Commission offers technical assistance on ADA telephone relay service
requirements.
Relay service -
documents and questions
202-418-0190
(voice) 202-418-2555 (TDD)
Relay service - legal
questions
202-418-2357
(voice) 202-418-0484 (TDD)
Access Board or
Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, offers technical
assistance on the ADA Accessibility Guidelines, and answers questions
pertaining to access to federal facilities and post offices.
ADA documents and
questions
800-872-2253
(voice) 800-993-2822 (TDD)
Electronic bulletin
board 202-272-5448
Department of Education
funds ten regional centers to provide technical assistance on the ADA.
Disability &
Business Technical Assistance Centers
800-949-4232 (voice/
TDD)
(Call automatically
connects to the closest center)
President s Committee
on Employment of People with Disabilities funds the Job Accommodation Network
(JAN), which provides advice on accommodating employees with disabilities.
Job Accommodation
Network
800-526-7234 (voice/
TDD)
Internal Revenue
Service provides information and publications about tax code provisions
including tax credits (section 44) and deductions (section 190) that can assist
businesses in complying with the ADA.
Tax code information
800-829-1040
(voice) 800-829-4059 (TDD)
To order Publication
907
800-829-3676
(voice) 800-829-4059 (TDD)
Legal questions
202-622-3110
(voice) TDD: use relay service
Fair Housing
Information Clearinghouse is run by the Department of Housing and Urban
Development and provides information concerning issues of housing access.
Information and
publications
800-343-3442
(voice) 800-483-2209 (TDD)
CDC National AIDS
Clearinghouse provides comprehensive HIV/AIDS information to health
professionals, managers of HIV/AIDS programs, educators, and information
providers.
National AIDS hotline
800-342-AIDS
(voice) 800-243-7889 (TDD)
800-344-SIDA (Spanish)
HIV/AIDS Statistics Info
Line
404-332-4570
Food and Drug
Administration provides information concerning the safety and efficacy of
drugs, biologics, vaccines, and medical devices used in the diagnosis,
treatment, and prevention of HIV infection, AIDS, and AIDS-associated opportunistic
infections.
Office of AIDS and
Special Health Issues
301-443-0104
National AIDS Program
Office of the U.S. Public Health Service provides information concerning the
Public Health Service’s AIDS-related activities.
National AIDS Program
Office
202-690-5471
The Ohio Civil
Rights Commission
Akron Regional
Office 330-643-3100
Cincinnati
Regional Office 513-852-3344
Cleveland
Regional Office 216-787-3150
Columbus
Regional Office 614-466-5928
Dayton Regional
Office 937-285-6500
Toledo Regional
Office 419-245-2900
Toll Free number for all Ohio Civil Rights
Commission offices 1-888-278-7101
This
document is available in the following formats for persons with disabilities:
- Braille
- Large print
- Audiocassette; and
- Electronic file on computer disk
and electronic
bulletin board, (202) 514-6193.
To
obtain these documents in alternate formats, call the Department of Justice ADA
Information Line, 800-514-0301 (voice), 800-514-0383 (TDD).
Note: Reproduction of this document is encouraged.