Subject: Bartender Wins Favorable Settlement
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 6 Nov 1995 14:00:01 -0500

Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Tuesday, October 31, 1995

Contact:Barry Taylor (312) 759-8110

Bartender Wins Favorable Settlement From Indiana  Restaurant That Fired Him
Because He Has HIV 

     (CHICAGO, October 31, 1995) - Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
announced today that a settlement has been reached in a suit by a bartender
who was fired when his employer, a restaurant called The Pub, learned he is
HIV-positive. 

     Larry Conway, the former bartender, now works as an administrative
assistant for the AIDS Resource Group in Evansville.  He said,  "I am very
pleased with this settlement, which accomplishes my goals in challenging the
discriminatory acts of my former employer.  I brought this lawsuit to educate
both my employer and the public that HIV-positive food workers do not pose a
risk in the workplace."

     Under the terms of the consent decree, The Pub must pay Mr. Conway  a
significant monetary sum and start HIV transmission and sensitivity training
sessions for all of its employees.  The Pub also is required to adopt a
policy which ensures confidentiality for all employee medical information.
 Compliance with the settlement will be monitored by the Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission (EEOC), the federal agency charged with enforcing the
American's with Disabilities Act (ADA).
     
     "This settlement should serve as a warning to employers that firing
someone based on irrational fears about HIV is not only wrong, it's also
time-consuming and costly," said Barry Taylor, AIDS Project Staff Attorney in
the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda and co-counsel in this case. "AIDS
discrimination is neither legal nor cost-effective."

     The EEOC brought suit against The Pub in 1994 under the ADA, a federal
law which prohibits discrimination against employees with HIV and other
disabilities.  Lambda, in coalition with the HIV/AIDS Legal Project of the
Legal Services Organization of Indiana (LSOI) and the Indiana HIV Advocacy
Program (IHAP) of the Indiana Community AIDS Action Network, intervened in
the suit on behalf of Mr. Conway. 

     "The actions of The Pub were motivated by irrational fears and ignorance
about HIV transmission," said co-counsel Stephanie Ortoleva from the LSOI.
"Public health authorities and the National Restaurant Association have
consistently stated that HIV-positive restaurant workers do not pose a risk
to their patrons or co-workers."

     "Our client is particularly pleased that the settlement requires
mandatory education about HIV in the workplace," added co-counsel Sandra
Gosling from IHAP. "Mr. Conway wanted his suit to inform people that
employees with HIV can be productive in the workplace without compromising
the safety of others."  

For more information contact:  
Sandra Gosling, Indiana HIV Advocacy Program
Indianapolis, IN
(317) 920-3190 or (800) 775-2437