Steve R.
Retired
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- Jul 5, 2006
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The media's reporting and the public's discussion concerning Covid and HIV are radically different.
When HIV first entered the public realm (circa 1981), the LGBT community, from what I remember, rose-up to assert that people cannot be discriminated against nor asked questions concerning their HIV status. The legislative process responded by supporting a right to privacy related to HIV status. That meant, as one example, that employers could not ask a person if they had HIV. So, if you had HIV, you were "protected' by a privacy shield. (I have not kept-up with any legislative changes that may have occurred over the last 40 years in terms of HIV.)
Today, in response to Covid, there are now incessant demands that a person can be asked concerning their Covid status and could face adverse action (discrimination) should they not respond appropriately. Or if you travel, that you must have a "Covid passport". In terms of Covid, the concept of a "privacy shield" is being tossed overboard. Basically a total reversal of public viewpoint and policy.
The transmission of HIV and Covid are substantially different. The transmission of HIV requires bodily fluid contact whereas Covid is airborne. Nevertheless, one has to wonder what is behind this massive pendulum swing in public attitudes and if is appropriate.
Below is a website of Lambda Legal. The purpose of that website is to advocate/show what rights are afforded to those with HIV. By extension, what rights should the general public have in this world of Covid?
One of the questions posed by Lambda Legal is: "Can I be fired (or not hired) because of my HIV status?"
When HIV first entered the public realm (circa 1981), the LGBT community, from what I remember, rose-up to assert that people cannot be discriminated against nor asked questions concerning their HIV status. The legislative process responded by supporting a right to privacy related to HIV status. That meant, as one example, that employers could not ask a person if they had HIV. So, if you had HIV, you were "protected' by a privacy shield. (I have not kept-up with any legislative changes that may have occurred over the last 40 years in terms of HIV.)
Today, in response to Covid, there are now incessant demands that a person can be asked concerning their Covid status and could face adverse action (discrimination) should they not respond appropriately. Or if you travel, that you must have a "Covid passport". In terms of Covid, the concept of a "privacy shield" is being tossed overboard. Basically a total reversal of public viewpoint and policy.
The transmission of HIV and Covid are substantially different. The transmission of HIV requires bodily fluid contact whereas Covid is airborne. Nevertheless, one has to wonder what is behind this massive pendulum swing in public attitudes and if is appropriate.
Below is a website of Lambda Legal. The purpose of that website is to advocate/show what rights are afforded to those with HIV. By extension, what rights should the general public have in this world of Covid?
HIV Discrimination in the Workplace
We make the case for equality in the nation's courts and in the court of public opinion. The work we do has impact on the way all of us live we change laws, policies and ideas.
www.lambdalegal.org
One of the questions posed by Lambda Legal is: "Can I be fired (or not hired) because of my HIV status?"
Seems that we should be able to simply substitute the words: "Covid positive" for "HIV-positive"? Your Covid status or refusal to disclose your Covid status should not be a basis for discrimination.Except in a few extremely rare circumstances, it is against the law for someone to fire you for being HIV-positive or to ask you if you’re HIV-positive during the hiring process.
A person’s HIV status should not dictate what she or he can—or cannot—do at work. This should be determined by qualifications, talents and commitment to the job. Some workers with HIV may require accommodations in order to perform a particular job, while others may never experience limitations that affect their ability to work. When health care issues do affect a person’s ability to work, the same rules about how to handle that situation apply regardless of whether the person is HIV-positive or HIV-negative. But that’s illegal. See “What laws protect me from anti-HIV discrimination at work?”