Checklist of state law issues involving AIDS testing

Employment-based discrimination on the basis of AIDS/HIV status may be prohibited by the states' fair employment practices laws, either explicitly or through a prohibition on disability discrimination. Issues that state legislatures are considering in regulating AIDS/HIV testing include:

• Are employers specifically covered?

• Is AIDS/HIV testing prohibited?

• What are the exceptions?

• Can an AIDS test be a condition of employment?

• Is there a provision for voluntary testing for on-the-job exposure?

• Who pays for the test?

• Who selects the tester?

• Is the information confidential?

• Is written consent required for disclosure?

• Is physician reporting required?

• Are reporting physicians granted immunity?

• Under what circumstances can the information be disclosed?

• Is there an explicit prohibition on the use of the information as a basis of employment discrimination?

• Is an employer liable for claims of HIV transmission from infected workers or from claims of stress-related diseases arising from an employee being required to work with an individual who has tested positively?