Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Tuesday, November 21, 1989
David Tuller, Chronicle Staff Writer
The program -- called "The Next Step: HIV in the '90s" -- includes a manual and a 24-minute videotape and discusses issues such as confidentiality, employment benefits, reasonable accommodation of those who are ill and bereavement in the workplace. The organization developed the program with the backing of 15 corporations around the country, including Pacific Bell, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., Bank of America and Syntex.
Because of medical advances that can significantly prolong the lives of those infected with the human immunodeficiency virus said Pat Cristen, AIDS Foundation executive director, "we are going to have many more people who will need to be maintained in the workplace for as long as possible."
The AIDS Foundation estimates that eight of 10 people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome work at some point during their illness. Yet according to surveys conducted this year by Crain's business newspapers in cities across the country, only a small percentage of companies -- 8 percent in New York and 4 percent in Chicago, for example -- said that they had a formal AIDS policy.
In the past three years, the foundation has sold 2,000 copies of an earlier workplace package that focused primarily on calming fears that AIDS could be contracted through casual contact. The new material, said Cristen, seeks to build on that base by addressing key management issues.
Corporate backers of the program stressed that fostering a compassionate environment for employees with AIDS made good business sense because the epidemic would impact an ever-growing number of companies in the next decade.
"We hope this program will stimulate corporations to be prepared and work with local organizations in planning for these cases -- because the cases will be there," said Susan Walters, consumer affairs manager at Pacific Bell.
Charles Nau, senior counsel at Syntex Corp., said that developing AIDS-in-the-workplace policies was particularly important now because of the imminent passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The legislation, which President Bush has already said he will sign once Congress approves it, will mandate employers to make far-reaching efforts to accommodate individuals suffering from disabilities, including AIDS.
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