Discrimination Costs Big

Wednesday, February 13, 2002 | 0

Recently reported by AP is the story about a grocery store that must pay $90,000 as the result of an EEOC complaint brought by a teen-ager with HIV who was fired when the manager found out she has the virus.

Korrin Krause, 16, worked one day in March, 2001 at Quality Foods IGA in Schofield, Wisconsin. That day the manager fired her after calling her mother to verify the girl was HIV positive. Krause had told the hiring manager she needed to take her breaks at certain times to take HIV medication.

The AIDS Resource Center of Wisconsin helped Krause file a complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging the store violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which bars employers from asking about workers' HIV status or discriminating against those with the virus.

A commission official found reasonable cause in May to believe a violation had occurred and the commission subsequently announced that the store would pay the teen-ager $1,000 in lost wages and $89,000 in emotional distress damages.

Krause was born with the virus. Her biological mother died in 1994 and she has since been adopted.

Employers and employees alike need to be vigilant in respecting the restrictions inherent in disability discrimination. The ADA protects against discrimination based on disabilities. Virtually all states have laws on the books that make it illegal to discriminate based on making, reporting, witnessing, or suffering from a work related injury or disability.