ACLU Lawsuit Charges U.S. Department of State Discriminated Against Former Veteran Because He Has HIV

WASHINGTON – The U.S. State Department and its contractor Triple Canopy, Inc., of Herndon, Virginia, are denying responsibility for refusing a job to a decorated Special Forces veteran because he has HIV. The veteran, who is represented in a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union, was denied a security job with Triple Canopy under its contract to protect the U.S. Embassy in Haiti for the State Department. A motion filed by Triple Canopy late Friday confirms that the State Department contract required a negative HIV test for all employees. The ACLU charges that this requirement violates the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans for Disabilities Act.

“After putting my life on the line for my country for more than 20 years, I can’t believe my government is saying that I’m unworthy to work because I have HIV,” said John Doe (who is going by a pseudonym to protect himself and his family from further discrimination). “I need this job to support my family. I’m in good health, well qualified and eager to serve.”

In October 2005, Doe applied, and was accepted, to work for Triple Canopy to provide personal security for the U.S. embassy in Haiti. On November 9, 2005, the day before graduating from the training program, a director for the company told him he was being let go because the State Department would not allow workers with HIV to be deployed oversees.

According to the motion filed by Triple Canopy on Friday, the “Worldwide Personal Protective Services Contract,” which the State Department used to hire contractors to fulfill U.S. security needs around the globe, required that all personnel working under the contract produce a “[v]alid negative HIV result within six (6) months of report date to FDC [Forward Deployment Center].” The contract also lists “suggested physical standards,” which include a requirement that all contractor personnel be “free from communicable disease.” Yet, in its own answer to the lawsuit, the State Department claims that its contract with Triple Canopy doesn’t bar people with HIV from employment.

“It is bad enough that people with HIV continue to face discrimination because of fear and lack of understanding about how HIV is transmitted,” said Rose Saxe of the ACLU AIDS Project. “But it is especially troublesome when a government contract is at the root of that discrimination. We need the courts to make it clear to the government and its contractors that they cannot discriminate against qualified people because they have HIV.”

Triple Canopy is also claiming that it was justified in denying Doe the job because he posed a risk to others because he has HIV. “As we have known for years, people with HIV can safely work in jobs like law enforcement and security,” said Saxe. “There was no reason Doe could not have done the job.”

Doe, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2000, served his country for 20 years until his retirement from the Army in September 2001. From 2004 to 2005, he worked for Defense Department contractors in Iraq, where he led security teams on military bases. In each of these jobs, the government was aware that Doe had HIV, and had no problem with him performing the jobs in war zones in Iraq.

Like many people with HIV, Doe remains healthy with an undetectable viral load. Doe is currently working in construction, earning much less than his promised salary with Triple Canopy, and making it difficult for his family to make ends meet.

After being terminated by Triple Canopy, Doe filed a charge with the E.E.O.C. against the company. After conducting an investigation into the firing, the E.E.O.C. issued a Right to Sue letter, finding there was “reasonable cause” to believe that Triple Canopy had illegally fired Doe in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

This case is the latest in a string of challenges against the U.S. government for discrimination against people with HIV in the workplace. In July 2008, the ACLU, advocating on behalf of a volunteer, persuaded the Peace Corps to eliminate its policy of automatically barring volunteers with HIV. In February 2008, the State Department settled a lawsuit brought by Lambda Legal on behalf of a Foreign Service Worker for HIV discrimination and agreed to eliminate its policy of automatically excluding workers with HIV.

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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/aclu-lawsuit-…

AAG Coakley slaps civil rights injunction on homophobic neighbor from hell

Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office obtained a civil rights injunction Jan. 6 against a Norwood woman for repeated anti-gay harassment of a gay neighbor who lives in the same apartment complex.

“Bias-motivated conduct, such as the harassment and intimidation we allege in this case, are devastating to victims not only because of the immediate physical and emotional harm they cause, but because feelings of fear, anxiety and profound loss of personal security often last far longer than the incident,” said Coakley in a statement. “Beyond their impact on individual victims, hate crimes and other forms of bias-motivated activity are very detrimental to communities, and this type of behavior will not be tolerated.”

In a press release announcing the injunction Coakley’s office details a persistent pattern of harassment by May. In November 2007 May allegedly began spreading rumors that her gay neighbor was a pedophile and sexual predator. Six months later May complained to her landlord after the victim hung a gay pride flag outside his window, and the landlord forced him to remove the flag. May also allegedly shouted anti-gay epithets at the victim on multiple locations within the presence of fellow tenants, and she physically confronted him in the yard of his home. Last August May allegedly made a baseless complaint to Norwood police claiming that the victim had exposed himself to her.

Coakley’s office alleged that as a result of the harassment the victim has feared for his safety and has been forced to alter his routine to avoid having contact with May.
See AG Coakley slaps homophobic neighbor from hell with civil rights … Bay Windows