Essay Example on Kansas Man Fired for Having HIV: A Discrimination Case

Source: Waldrop, T. (2019). Kansas man claims he was fired from a restaurant because he has HIV. [online]. Available at: https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/10/us/kansas-hiv-employee-fired-lawsuit/index.html

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Summary of Article

The article titled "Kansas man claims he was fired from a restaurant because he has HIV," written by Theresa Waldrop, was published on CNN on November 11, 2019. It talks about an employee named Armando Gutierrez, who was sacked because of his medical condition. The man was serving at a Kansas diner when he was diagnosed with HIV. He asked his supervisor to sign a form that would enable him to access HIV drugs from a government program. Later, the management transferred him to a different workstation where he was required to work on Sundays. It was against an agreement that they made a year ago when Gutierrez was employed. Gutierrez's family commitments could not allow him to work on Sunday (Waldrop, Theresa). However, the administration flaunted the agreement knowing very well that Gutierrez was not in a position to work on Sundays. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention findings reveal that a person can't contract HIV by consuming food prepared by an infected person. Additionally, the transmission of the virus can only happen through bodily fluids, including semen and blood. According to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, in 2018, it received 195 claims connected to persons being discriminated against because of having the virus.

New Things I Learned

The article revealed some things to me. I was surprised to learn that the level of discrimination based on HIV status is rising in the hospitality industry. It is disturbing to learn that as much as the Americans with Disabilities Act protects persons infected with HIV, discrimination is still on the rise. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed lawsuits against organizations that have dismissed employees because they are infected with HIV. Advancement has occurred in the prevention and treatment of HIV from when the AIDS crisis hit the globe (Waldrop, Theresa). However, in America, approximately 1.1 million persons were HIV positive by the end of 2016. Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that over 39,000 tested positive for the virus in 2017. It implies that a big battle lies ahead between persons living with AIDS and their employers in the hospitality industry. I also learned that many employers in the sector are ignorant of how persons can be infected with the virus as per CDC directives. It explains why the rate of discrimination in the industry is high.

How It Impacts the Hospitality Industry

Discrimination in the hospitality industry has adverse effects on the industry. It created a liability for establishments in the industry. A good example is a scenario mentioned above, where Gutierrez sued his previous employer (Waldrop, Theresa). In the suit, the complainant demanded compensation for damages done by the unfair dismissal. Companies lose vast sums of money in dealing with court battles. Secondly, the industry becomes unproductive because of constant employee turnover. Unfair treatment of employees demotivates them, making some to quit or be fired (Arici Hasan Evrim et al. 18). The hospitality industry is labor-intensive, meaning that it requires significant employee input. Ultimately, the industry will not be as productive as it should because of time wasted, damaged reputation, and liabilities from lawsuits filed against employers.

Works Cited

Arici, Hasan Evrim, et al. "The Effect Of Favoritism On Job Embeddedness In The Hospitality Industry: A Mediation Study Of Organizational Justice." International Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Administration (2019): 1-29.

Waldrop, Theresa. "Kansas man claims he was fired from a restaurant because he has HIV" CNN, 2019, https://edition.cnn.com/2019/11/10/us/kansas-hiv-employee-fired-lawsuit/index.html Accessed 17 Apr 2020.