On World AIDS Day, Justice Department Remains Resolute in Protecting the Civil Rights of People Living with HIV and AIDS

On World AIDS Day 2024 (observed Dec. 1), the Justice Department remains unwavering in its commitment to defending the civil rights of people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

For decades, the department has prioritized enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal laws to seek equal opportunity for, and to combat discrimination against, people living with HIV and AIDS. This includes the department’s recent resolution with Shelby County, Tennessee, to cease prosecution of people living with HIV under Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law. The department alleged that the law violated the ADA by subjecting people living with HIV to harsher criminal penalties solely because of their HIV status.

The Justice Department is steadfast in its commitment to uphold the rights of all Americans, including people living with HIV and AIDS. And that includes challenging the enforcement of discriminatory state criminal laws that treat people differently based on HIV status alone and are not based on actual risks of harm. On World AIDS Day, we recommit to ensuring that every person, regardless of their HIV status, can live free from prejudice and discrimination and thrive with dignity and respect.

In 2024, the department also entered into a settlement agreement with Wayne County, Michigan, resolving allegations that the Wayne County Jail routinely failed to provide crucial services to inmates with disabilities, including access to appropriate prescription medications, mental health services and medical equipment, and failed to conduct medical and mental health assessments. The agreement requires the County to implement a series of reforms at the Wayne County Jail to ensure that patients with disabilities, including HIV, have appropriate access to specialty health care programs and medications.

The department continues working to ensure effective implementation of recent settlement agreements and consent decrees that resolve allegations of discrimination against people with HIV, including:

• New Jersey: A settlement agreement resolving allegations that a home healthcare provider discriminated based on HIV status. The agreement requires the home healthcare provider to ensure that people with disabilities, including those who have or are perceived as having HIV, receive equal opportunities to obtain the provider’s services. The provider will also train its employees and pay damages to the person who experienced this discrimination;
• Indiana:  A consent decree resolving a lawsuit against the Town of Clarksville, Indiana. The lawsuit alleged that the town’s police department prevented a qualified applicant from becoming a police officer based on his HIV diagnosis. The agreement requires Clarksville to pay monetary damages to the complainant, revise its policies and train its personnel;
• California:  Two consent decrees resolving cases alleging that doctors in California refused to provide routine medical care to a patient because of her HIV status. One lawsuit alleged that when the patient tried to make an appointment, she was told that the doctor could not see her because she had HIV, and the second lawsuit alleged that another doctor denied the patient a Pap smear, a regular preventative procedure, because he found her a “high risk” patient. The consent decrees require each doctor to pay monetary damages to the complainant and a civil penalty to the United States, to receive training on the ADA and the care of patients with HIV and to implement a non-discrimination policy;
• Nevada:  A settlement agreement with the Nevada Department of Corrections to resolve systemic discrimination in its correctional practices. The department’s investigation found that the state impermissibly isolated and segregated inmates with HIV, failed to keep their HIV status confidential and denied them equal employment opportunities as well as classification and housing at lower custody levels. The agreement requires Nevada to develop or amend policies and procedures to ensure equal and integrated housing, classification and employment opportunities, to train staff on the ADA and to implement an ADA grievance procedure; and
• Colorado:  A settlement agreement with a tattoo studio in Colorado that allegedly refused service to a client who informed the studio of their HIV-positive status. The agreement requires the tattoo studio to pay monetary damages to the complainant, develop a non-discrimination policy and train its employees.

Along with its enforcement efforts, the department continues to engage in outreach to educate people living with HIV and AIDS, businesses, state and local governments and other covered entities on their rights and responsibilities under the ADA. The department also provides technical assistance and responds to questions from individuals and covered entities through our ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (voice) or 833-610-1264 (TTY).

To learn more about the Civil Rights Division’s work, please visit www.justice.gov/crt and ADA.gov.