Washington Blade - September 12, 2003
Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Lorenzo Taylor, 47, an Arlington, Va., resident and a longtime federal employee, charges that he was denied a Foreign Service job despite the fact that he has lived with HIV for 18 years and has never had long-term illnesses or opportunistic infections typical of AIDS.

The suit, filed Sept. 3 in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, notes that Taylor passed rigorous written and oral exams required by the U.S. Foreign Service program. The suit notes that he is fluent in three languages, holds a Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University, and has traveled extensively overseas for other jobs without adverse affects on his health.

The gay legal lobby group Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund of New York filed the suit on Taylor's behalf.

"By concluding that Mr. Taylor's health is too poor to permit overseas work, the department has capitulated to an outdated and inaccurate generalization about people with HIV," the suit states.

The State Department has said it bars people with HIV from Foreign Service jobs because Foreign Service officers must be capable of being deployed worldwide. The ban is needed, State Department officials have said, because people with HIV may require medical treatment that is not available in some less developed countries.

However, the department allows Foreign Service officers who are diagnosed with HIV while already on the job to remain in the Foreign Service if they show no signs of immune suppression. Under the policy, existing officers diagnosed with HIV remain eligible for limited overseas duties.

Mindy Sofen, a State Department spokesperson, said the department never comments on pending litigation. Sofen said the Department's Office of Medical Services considers individual applications for a medical approval for overseas posts on a case-by-case basis.

The suit charges that the policy denying jobs to new applicants with HIV violates the federal Rehabilitation Act. The act prohibits the federal government from discriminating against job applicants with disabilities who are otherwise qualified to perform their duties with or without "reasonable accommodation." HIV is considered a disability under the act.

Jonathan Givner, the Lambda attorney working on Taylor's case, said applicants for Foreign Service jobs with HIV should be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

"There's no question that Taylor is extremely qualified to do this work and that he would do it well," Givner said. "But because he has HIV, none of that matters to the federal government."

Givner added, "This policy prevents Lorenzo Taylor and other people like him from serving their country - all while there's a severe shortage of Foreign Service applicants with these skills and qualifications."

HIV policy outdated: suit

The lawsuit states that the State Department policy, which was issued in the early1980s, fails to take into consideration the advances in scientific knowledge about AIDS and the greatly improved medical treatment for the disease.

"Today, thanks in part to significant medical breakthroughs, people living with HIV like Mr. Taylor often live long and healthy lives with few, if any, symptoms of HIV," the suit says. "Nonetheless, the Department clings to the antiquated assumption that all people living with HIV, regardless of their actual physical condition, are especially fragile and require near-constant monitoring and medical attention."

The suit notes that Taylor has traveled "without medical incident" to Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Germany, Russia, Senegal, South Africa, Turkey and Zimbabwe. It says the State Department recruited him for a Foreign Service job in July 2001, prompting him to take and pass the required written and oral exams. He received a conditional offer for a Foreign Service job in November 2001, the suit says.

The following month, after reporting for a required physical exam, Taylor disclosed he has HIV. It was at that time, the suit says, that a State Department doctor told him he would not be eligible for a Foreign Service job because of his HIV status. Taylor responded by applying for a medical waiver of the policy, asking the department to "conduct an individualized assessment of his application instead of relying on the department's blanket policy against hiring HIV-positive candidates," the suit says.

A committee assigned to consider waivers denied his request in July 2002.

"Being HIV positive has impacted my life in countless ways since I was diagnosed, but it has never kept me from being able to do a job," Taylor said in a statement. "I've always wanted to be a Foreign Service Officer. I'm still hopeful that I can be judged based on the skills and experiences I bring, along with my overall long-term health status, rather than just on whether I have HIV," Taylor said.

The suit points to a June 2002 speech by Secretary of State Colin Powell urging the nation's business leaders not to engage in AIDS discrimination.

"Corporate leaders can see to it that their managers implement fair employment practices to ensure there is no discrimination related to a person's HIV status - no stigmatization," Powell said in his speech. "This is one of those lessons we have to get to all employers and nations around the world, that they must not stigmatize people who are ill."

"The Secretary of State recognizes that HIV discrimination in the workplace is a problem around the country and the world, and today's lawsuit shows that it's a problem in his own workplace," Givner said. "With one stroke of his pen, he can end HIV discrimination in the Foreign Service, bring the government into compliance with the law and follow through on his own promise of fairness," Givner said.

The suit calls on the court to grant Taylor a Class I medical clearance or waiver, which would allow him to work as a Foreign Service officer with unlimited duties in any overseas assignment, or a Class II waiver or clearance, which would authorize limited access to certain assignments abroad. The suit also calls on the court to permanently enjoin the State Department from enforcing its policy of refusing to hire Taylor and other HIV-positive people for Foreign Service jobs.

In addition, It asks the court to order the State Department to pay Taylor the value of his lost wages and benefits as well as compensatory and punitive damages as specified by the Rehabilitation Act.

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