You can do a lot to prevent HIV discrimination at work by learning your own rights and responsibilities. Here are some tips for employees with HIV:

If side effects or symptoms interfere with work, you might ask for changes in your working conditions that would allow you to continue doing a good job. Suppose your medication makes you nauseated in the morning. Suppose your job could be done just as well if you came in an hour later and stayed an hour later. A change like that is called a “reasonable accommodation” and there’s a right way to ask for one. Think like an employer: what documentation and attitude would you want to see?

• Name the specific functional limitation you want your employer to accommodate, such as fatigue.
• Be specific about the change you need (rest breaks every 90 minutes).
• Back up your request with a physician’s note that supports the functional limitation – but doesn’t state the diagnosis!
• Make it clear that you understand the purpose of the accommodation: you still have to be able to do the whole job, even if you have to work longer hours.
• Give the request to the person who arranges reasonable accommodation for all other conditions. Usually that person is not your supervisor. It may be the company nurse, HR (human resources) representative, shop steward, or an officer of the company.
• If you cannot do the whole job even with the accommodation, you need to think about short-term leave.

The diarrhea may be an adjustment to new HIV drugs. Other than getting up two hours earlier, you could:

• Ask for an accommodation (later arrival time) until you and your physician can resolve the diarrhea. Back up your request with a physician’s note.
• Offer to change your shift to start and end two hours later. Sometimes this is a benefit to an employer with customers in other time zones.
• Advise your supervisor that you have a new medication and will need frequent bathroom breaks while you adjust.

Start with your own supervisor, who is responsible for stopping discriminatory behavior. No results? Go to HR or the person responsible for employee relations. No results? Go to a company officer, in writing. No results? Go to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (see Additional Resources for contact information). Document your efforts.

Everyone should be using universal precautions by now. People administering first aid can respond to you safely if they use latex gloves and assume that you are infectious for all blood borne diseases. If you know your employer hasn’t provided first aid training for a long time, be a pest for updated first aid training at work.

Several laws cover your rights as an HIV+ person at work:

• Americans with Disabilities Act:
• If you can do the whole job, you’re a qualified individual with a disability.
• If HIV or a side effect limits you somehow, you have a functional limitation.
• If you need a change in your job because of the limitation, alert your employer to the fact that you have a disability—you do not have to disclose your HIV status. Talk about what you can and cannot do. Use functional limitation language and back it up with a physician’s note that suggests a solution and doesn’t state the diagnosis.
• You pose no threat to other workers’ health on the job. Termination based on HIV status is illegal.
• The ADA is a tool that deserves wise, careful use. Learn more about the ADA from the Job Accommodation Network (see Additional Resources for contact information).
• Health Insurance Portability and Affordability Act (HIPAA):
• HIPAA prevents insurance gaps when you go from one insured situation to another.
• HIPAA carries stiff fines for disclosing someone’s medical information at work or in a medical setting.
• Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA):
• FMLA provides for up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave to deal with a family issue or medical problem, either for you or an immediate family member.
• You can take FMLA leave a few hours at a time, if necessary.
• FMLA leave is separate from short-term disability and is not the same thing as sick days. FMLA leave has its own application form.
• On the FMLA form, you’re asked to identify the reason for the leave. The reason is one of six broad categories listed on the form. If you want to protect your confidentiality, you do not have to supply a diagnosis on the form. If you need help filling out the form, ask a social worker or nurse at your health care provider’s office.

• Keep track of all of your performance reviews. (You’ll need them if someone learns your HIV status and suddenly begins giving you poor reviews.)
• Think very carefully before disclosing your HIV status at work. Have realistic expectations about the possible outcome.
• Refuse to discuss other employees’ medical conditions.
• Focus on doing a great job.

1		Rubenstein, W.B., et.al. (1996). The rights of people who are HIV positive: The authoritative ACLU guide to the rights of people living with HIV disease and AIDS. Southern Illinois University Press.
2		Senak, M.S. (1996). HIV, AIDS, and the law: A guide to our rights and challenges. New York: Plenum Press.