MCLE Self-Study Test

Answer the following questions after reading the article on handling HIV issues in the workplace. Use the answer form provided to send the test, along with a $20 processing fee, to the State Bar. This test meets the requirement for one hour of MCLE credit in the special category of elimination of bias. Please allow at least eight weeks for MCLE certificates and answer rationales to reach you in the mail.

  1. Generally speaking, the ADA and FEHA apply to private employers with 15 or more employees.
  2. The ADA and the FEHA prohibit an employer from declining any applicant with a disability.
  3. There is no limit on what an employer is required to do to accommodate a person with disabilities.
  4. AIDS and HIV-positive status are recognized disabilities under the ADA and FEHA.
  5. Unless and until it affects the individual's ability to do his job, AIDS/HIV is not considered a disability under the FEHA.
  6. Because of the perception that homosexuals are more likely to have AIDS or be HIV-positive, the ADA and the FEHA prohibit discrimination against homosexuals.
  7. Under the ADA, an employer may be required to not only alter the workplace's physical environment as part of reasonably accommodating a person with disabilities, the employer also may be required to adjust work schedules, work hours, or even job assignments.
  8. In order to accommodate the concerns of current employees, an employer may require job applicants to submit to blood tests to determine whether they have AIDS or are HIV positive, so long as this is required of all job applicants.
  9. An employer who knows or suspects that a job applicant has AIDS or is HIV-positive may not ask about that applicant's ability to perform the essential functions required in the job for which the person is applying, because that might reveal the nature or extent of the disability.
  10. Even if a job applicant volunteers that he or she has AIDS or is HIV-positive, the employer still may not inquire about the extent of the disability, beyond asking about the applicant's ability to perform job-related functions.
  11. Once an employment offer is extended, an employer may require that an AIDS/HIV test be taken by a prospective employee who the employer reasonably and in good faith believes has AIDS or is HIV-positive.
  12. In response to the inquiry of a concerned co-worker, an employer may disclose that an employee has AIDS or is HIV-positive, so long as the co-worker agrees to keep that information strictly confidential.
  13. An employer may refuse to hire, or may discharge, someone whose disability prevents them from performing the essential functions of their job without endangering their health and safety, or the health and safety of others.
  14. Because AIDS/HIV is such a deadly disease, it always is appropriate to limit the job duties of an infected employee or applicant so as to minimize their contact with co-workers and customers.
  15. Because AIDS/HIV is such a deadly disease, it always is appropriate to prohibit those with AIDS/HIV from performing food-handling tasks.
  16. Federal law prohibits private employers from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
  17. Because both the ADA and the FEHA specifically exclude homosexuality from the definition of "disability," California employers face no statutory liability for discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.
  18. An employer may discharge or reassign an employee known to have AIDS or be HIV-positive, but who is competently and safely performing his job, so long as the employer reasonably and in good faith believes that at some point in the future the employee's AIDS/ HIV status is likely to present a substantial risk of harm to himself or others in the performance of his job.
  19. As part of the permissible inquiry into whether a job applicant is capable of performing the job's essential functions, an employer may ask the applicant how many days of work they missed last year, or whether they will need time off for medical reasons in the new job.
  20. Assume that two people, one of whom is known to have AIDS, share a desk in the research department of an investment firm. The department manager lawfully may reassign the employee who has AIDS simply in response to the good faith -- albeit unreasonable -- concerns of the other employee about the risk of transmission of AIDS/HIV.

Certification

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