PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A Delaware County prison must change the way it operates, after settling a discrimination lawsuit with an HIV-positive incarcerated man who wanted to work in the kitchen.
The suit against the George W. Hill Correctional Facility was based on a 2020 incident, when it was privately run by the GEO Group.
“Our client was incarcerated,” said Adrian Lowe, senior staff attorney at the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania. “During the period of time he was incarcerated, he was trying to get a job in the kitchen. He was initially told he could have the job.”
Lowe says that offer was soon rescinded. “He asked why, and it was because he’s living with HIV.”
That violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, according to Lowe, but the issues with the prison did not stop there.
“[The prison] allowed his private medical information to become known,” he said. According to the suit, another incarcerated person was handed a note to give to him that said he wasn’t cleared to work because of his HIV status.
“There are plenty of hardworking people living with HIV who are in kitchens making beautiful meals or making fast food, so this idea that we’re going to screen out somebody with HIV to protect our food supply is naive,” said Ronda Goldfein, executive director of the AIDS Law Project, who represented the plaintiff along with Lowe.
The financial terms of the settlement, which was reached last week, have not been disclosed, but attorneys say it requires the prison strengthen policy around health care privacy. It must also clarify its non-discrimination policies in its employment programs.
Calls to the prison for comment were not immediately returned.