Today, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion reinstating employment discrimination lawsuits filed by three individuals with AIDS. In Leonel v. American Airlines, the court held that the pre-employment blood test conducted by the defendant before the final job offer was made may have been premature, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the California's Fair Employment and Housing Act.
One somewhat humorous detail: footnote 15 of the opinion indicates that the plaintiffs' blood was taken by Nurse Becky Doom. 'Nuff said:)
Here, unlike my posts at www.appellate.typepad.com, I am going to editorialize a bit. This case demonstrates the strain our existing healthcare system puts on employers. When American Airlines rescinds job offers to HIV applicants, it is not necessarily because American does not think these folks could not do the job or because it wants to discriminate. What American is legitimately concerned about are the medical insurance rates. That is why I firmly believe we got to find some way to publicly finance at least catastrophic coverage and, perhaps, very basic coverage for everyone. Those who want private healthcare would, naturally, have a full and fair opportunity to do so.
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