Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - October 11, 2002
Kevin Lynch and Virginia Groark, Tribune staff reporters
Although there has been much discussion about how police officers can protect themselves from contracting HIV on the job, few departments appear to have policies about employing an officer with the virus, which causes AIDS.
Lawyers for the plaintiff, referred to by the alias Richard Roe, say Westmont's practice violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
According to the complaint filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Roe was employed elsewhere as a police officer when he applied to Westmont in September 2000. He discovered he was HIV-positive because the Westmont Board of Police and Fire Commissioners required physical exams that include screenings for HIV, the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit does not say where the officer worked. Three attorneys representing Roe declined to comment or did not return calls Thursday.
Village officials also declined to comment.
About a week after tests confirmed Roe was infected with the virus in February 2001, an attorney for the village told him the board "might not be able to hire him because of his infection with HIV," the complaint said. The attorney is unnamed in the lawsuit.
The board and its commissioners also are named as defendants.
On March 5, 2001, Roe received a letter from the board that said he did not meet "the necessary requirements for the position," the complaint said.
Roe had ranked fourth out of 15 candidates after taking a physical ability test as well as written and psychological exams, the complaint said.
The lawsuit seeks an order stopping Westmont from requiring medical exams and refusing to hire people with HIV. It also is seeking lost wages and emotional damages for Roe.
Legal experts were surprised by the allegation that Westmont tests Police Department applicants for HIV.
"This is just so far beyond the bounds of acceptable employment practices," said Harvey Grossman, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois.
In 1994, the ACLU brought a class-action lawsuit against the Chicago Police Department for requiring its applicants to be tested for HIV. Chicago agreed to stop conducting the tests as part of a settlement agreement.
State regulations only require health-care workers providing certain types of medical procedures to disclose that they have HIV, said Tom Schafer, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Public Health. For example, an orthopedic surgeon who is doing a certain type of procedure involving splintered bones must notify the hospital and the patient if he or she has HIV, Schafer said.
As long as an HIV-positive person takes proper precautions, chances for a public health risk are slim, he said.
"There is always a risk whether someone is HIV-positive or has hepatitis or some other communicable disease, but if you started regulating all the different types of risks there wouldn't be any police officers or firefighters," Schafer said.
Still, concerns about public safety officials acquiring HIV and other diseases while performing their duties have circled for years. In May, Evergreen Park police participated in a panel with the staff of Little Company of Mary Hospital to address the issue.
The result was two pages of guidelines outlining the procedure police officers should follow if they suspect they have been exposed to HIV or other infectious diseases.
Evergreen Park Deputy Police Chief Kenneth Klomhaus said several other departments have requested the guidelines. The Illinois Association of Chiefs of Police has posted them on its Web site.
But what if Evergreen Park learns that a job candidate is HIV-positive?
"We haven't had that situation come up yet," Klomhaus said.
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