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.
- Generally speaking, the ADA and FEHA apply to private employers with
15 or more employees.
- The ADA and the FEHA prohibit an employer from declining any applicant
with a disability.
- There is no limit on what an employer is required to do to accommodate
a person with disabilities.
- AIDS and HIV-positive status are recognized disabilities under the
ADA and FEHA.
- Unless and until it affects the individual's ability to do his job,
AIDS/HIV is not considered a disability under the FEHA.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Because AIDS/HIV is such a deadly disease, it always is appropriate
to prohibit those with AIDS/HIV from performing food-handling tasks.
- Federal law prohibits private employers from discriminating on the
basis of sexual orientation.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- This activity has been approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education
credit by the State Bar of California in the amount of 1 hour, of which
1 hour will apply to elimination of bias.
- The State Bar of California certifies that this activity conforms to
the standards for approved education activities prescribed by the rules
and regulations of the State Bar of California governing minimum continuing
legal education.