Police revoked job offer from man with HIV, feds say. Now Justice Department is suing

UPDATE: The Indiana town of Clarksville and the U.S. Department of Justice reached an agreement on Sept. 15 regarding the federal lawsuit alleging a police department’s violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

If the court approves the proposed consent decree, the town will pay the man $150,000 in damages and provide an affidavit “that makes clear to future employers that his termination by the town was through no fault of his own.” The town will also revise related policies and procedures.

“This settlement will ensure that qualified individuals who seek to serve their communities won’t be excluded as a result of unfounded stereotypes and misinformation about HIV,” Zachary A. Myers, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said in a statement.

The original story is below.

Before an Indiana man got a job offer with a local police department, federal officials say he served as a volunteer reserve officer with that same department for more than a year.

When he got his “conditional offer of employment as a police officer” in October 2015, he was required to pass a state-mandated medical examination, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court on April 25.

The man revealed he was being treated for HIV and said he takes prescribed antiretroviral medications — an admission that led to his revoked job offer, according to the federal lawsuit.

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Clarksville, Indiana, accusing the town of violating Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“Title I of the ADA prohibits employers from discriminating against qualified individuals on the basis of disability,” officials said. “Discrimination includes withdrawing a job offer to a qualified individual based on unsupported and stereotypical views of the applicant’s disability.”

In a statement to McClatchy News on April 25, Clarksville Town Manager Kevin Baity said city officials are aware of the complaint and “working with the DOJ to resolve the matter.”

“Despite the recently filed lawsuit, the Town of Clarksville will continue to work to find an amicable solution to the complaint,” he said. “The Town of Clarksville and the Clarksville Police Department will have no further comment on the lawsuit as it is a matter of pending litigation.”

In the complaint filed in court, the Justice Department says the medical examiner noted that the prospective police officer “was taking ‘anti-viral medications,’ had ‘no long-term evidence of active disease’ from his HIV, and had no other notable health issues.”

The man’s HIV is “well-controlled with medication and his viral load is, and during all relevant times was, fully suppressed,” according to the lawsuit.

But after his exam, officials say the examiner told the Clarksville police chief that he didn’t believe the man met statewide medical standards “because his HIV was a ‘communicable disease’ that posed a ‘significant risk of substantial harm to the health and safety’ of his colleagues and the public.”

No evidence was provided in support of that opinion, according to court records.

“No qualified individual should lose a hard-earned career opportunity because of misguided views about their disability that are not supported by medicine or science,” Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in the news release. “The scientific community has agreed for years that an HIV diagnosis does not make an employee a risk to their colleagues or others.”

In November 2015, the Justice Department says the chief recommended that the Clarksville Metropolitan Board of Fire, Police and Safety Commissioners withdraw the man’s job offer and fire him from his role as a reserve police officer.

The job offer was rescinded the next day, stating he “did not pass the statewide baseline test” required by the Indiana Public Retirement System, according to the lawsuit.

For the next 15 months, officials say the man tried appealing the “erroneous disqualification.” And about eight months after his offer of employment was revoked, the town “acknowledged that (he) was qualified by adding him back to its police officer hiring list.”

He was never rehired, and he eventually accepted an offer with a different police department, the complaint says.

In filing the lawsuit, the Department of Justice asks that the court require the city “bring its employment practices into compliance with Title I of the ADA,” ensure those who conduct medical examinations are aware of the ADA and reinstate the man as an officer.

The department also asks that the man get his “seniority and retirement benefits as if his employment had continued on a full-time, uninterrupted, basis since the date his conditional offer was unlawfully withdrawn” and that he be awarded compensatory damages.

“Every day, we depend on law enforcement officers who put themselves in harm’s way to keep us safe,” said U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Myers for the Southern District of Indiana. “Those who are qualified and seek to serve their communities should not be subjected to unlawful discrimination. Individuals living with HIV are entitled to the full protection of our anti-discrimination laws. Our office will work closely with our partners in the Civil Rights Division to ensure that those who seek to serve the public are not unlawfully discriminated against.”

This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 4:20 PM.