March 22, 2011
Applicants with HIV/AIDS Possibly Being Excluded
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 1 MIN.
The Justice Department says some trade schools and state licensing agencies may be illegally excluding applicants with HIV and AIDS.
People who have HIV and AIDS are protected from discrimination by the Americans With Disabilities Act. But the department says some licensing agencies and schools for barbering, cosmetology, massage therapy, home health care work and other occupations may be denying admission because of HIV status.
The department recently settled with a cosmetology school in Puerto Rico that questioned applicants' HIV/AIDS status and required the school to enroll an HIV-positive applicant.
The department said Monday that it has sent letters to attorneys general in all 50 states asking them to identify other programs that violate the act and bring them into compliance.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
