Lambda Legal on
Thursday delivered a petition signed by 5,000 people
urging Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to repeal the
federal government's discriminatory hiring policies
and allow a qualified HIV-positive man to work as a
Foreign Service officer.
Lambda Legal
represents Lorenzo Taylor, who speaks three languages, holds
a foreign service degree from Georgetown University, and
easily passed the rigorous application process
required to be a Foreign Service officer.
Because of the State Department's policies, however,
Taylor was not considered for the job because is
HIV-positive, though medical experts, including the
nation's two largest organizations of HIV specialists,
say the hiring practice is medically unfounded.
The lawsuit filed
on behalf of Taylor says the State Department's policy
violates the federal Rehabilitation Act, which prohibits the
federal government from discriminating against people
with disabilities, including HIV. The lawsuit seeks a
change in the department's outdated ban on
HIV-positive applicants.
Last spring,
federal district court judge Rosemary Collyer issued an
opinion in favor of the State Department, saying that the
government should not have to accommodate Taylor by
letting him use some of his sick and vacation leave,
available to all Foreign Service officers, to travel
to see his doctor. Lambda Legal argued the appeal in
the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia in April, and a decision is
currently pending.
Lambda Legal also
represents Kyle Smith, who applied for a position in
the Foreign Service in 2003 but was also rejected because
he is HIV-positive. Smith's case is pending
before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
The petition
urges Rice to repeal the State Department's discriminatory
policy and evaluate each Foreign Service applicant on a
case-by-case basis.
"Employers, as
well as the general public, look to the federal
government to set the standard in workers' rights," said
Hector Vargas, deputy director of education and public
affairs at Lambda Legal, in a press statement. "Rice
has the power to set the record straight and make
clear that discrimination in the workplace is not
acceptable, starting with allowing Lorenzo Taylor,
Kyle Smith, and other qualified and dedicated
applicants to serve our nation in the Foreign Service."
The petition is
currently available online for the public to sign at https://ga4.org and will also be
featured at gay pride celebrations around the country this
month. Another round of signatures will be delivered
to Rice in the fall. (The Advocate)
