HIV Status Revealed, Lawsuit Threatened: Court OK's Firing of Program Coordinator
Legal Eagle Eye Newsletter for the Nursing Profession
February 1999 Quick Summary: The court upheld the firing of an AIDS program coordinator at a
community health center for violating her employer’s confidentiality policy. The program coordinator divulged information about a prospective client
to a colleague who was not a co-worker. Although the name of the prospective client was not revealed, a third
party who overheard the conversation was able to identify the client. The third party relayed the information to the client’s sister,
who threatened a lawsuit. According to the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, it is
misconduct serious enough to justify termination to act contrary to an employer’s
known policy of confidentiality and thus to subject the employer to potential legal
liability for breach of confidentiality.