Film Essay

AIDS in the Workplace

At work, colleagues talk about family, pets or the latest movie that came out, what is not talked about is AIDS. AIDS is something that is not normally brought up in a conversation, especially amongst coworkers. If a fun conversation turned into one about AIDS there would be many uncomfortable people that would potentially walk away from the conversation altogether. However, if someone who is diagnosed with cancer begins to talk about their strugglers everyone is there to lend a listening ear or a shoulder to cry on. AIDS should not be any different. Like cancer, AIDS does not have a cure. Coworkers battling AIDS need an excessive support system. Colleagues should not be shunned or frowned upon due to the fact that they have been plagued with this dreadful disease. Employers and coworkers need to start showing support and acceptance of their peers who are facing AIDS.

The 1993 film Philadelphia, shows an example of AIDS creating a problem in a working environment. Lawyers Andrew Beckett and Joe Miller utilize their legal skills when Andrew Beckett feels he has been fired when his boss notices a lesion caused by AIDS on his face. It is illegal for an employer to fire an employee due to a sickness or disability, because the company Andrew Beckett is working for, knows this, the company fires him for an error in his job performance. Due to the false accusation, Andrew is determined to sue his former employer for wrongful termination, in hopes to bring justice to himself and to others who have been in this situation.  Although in the film Andrew is a homosexual, AIDS does not have a prejudice as to who can contract the disease. “Anyone can get HIV -men, women, and children, people who are gay or straight” (“AIDS United”). Contracting AIDS is not something everyone can contract, AIDS is contracted by the actions someone chooses to do. Sexual encounters, sharing needles, or blood transfusions with someone who is HIV positive will lead to contracting AIDS. Talking to, or shaking hands with a coworker who is HIV positive will not lead to contracting AIDS.

            The discrimination law became affective in 1973 and states: “The Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973 prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified handicapped persons who are able to perform the duties required by their employment” (Philadelphia).When the Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Act first passed there were many people that were unsure whether AIDS was in fact protected by the act. However, later decisions have held that AIDS is protected as a handicap under law, not only because of the physical limitations it imposes, but because the prejudice surrounding AIDS (Philadelphia). When someone is affected with AIDS, it is not something that is easily hidden or in Andrew Beckett’s case, can be hidden at all. AIDS causes your immune system to become extremely weak, which causes you to become sick more often and for longer periods of time. “Areas of abnormal or damaged tissue, called lesions, are a common symptom of AIDS. The most visible types of AIDS lesions are on the skin, but they can also appear in internal organs such as the brain and kidneys” (“The AIDS Epidemic”). AIDS does enough damage to one’s body; inside and out, that last thing someone who is diagnosed with AIDS needs is to feel rejected at their place of employment.

  AIDS is not a fun topic to talk about, but, it is imperative that people do talk about AIDS. A colleague from work may be struggling with this disease and they should not have to struggle with it alone. The United States Department of Labor has been providing companies with support groups and classes for employees to take on how to live with AIDS and on how to interact with people who are living with the disease. “HIV/AIDS projects attempt to break through the fear, social stigmatization and workplace discrimination workers commonly experience” (ILAB). AIDS is dreadful disease that is in the world and if we choose not to be different and show support and acceptance towards coworkers living with AIDS then there will always be discrimination towards those living with AIDS.  Philadelphia shows Andrew’s courage in his fight with AIDS. Even though at the end of the film AIDS takes Andrews life, he achieves justice when the jury awards him back pay and punitive damages totaling more than 5 million dollars.

Works Cited

"AIDS United." AIDS United. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.aidsunited.org>.

"ILAB - Technical Assistance - HIV/AIDS Workplace Education." United States Department of Labor. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/intlcoop/hivaids/>.

Philadelphia. Dir. Jonathan  Demme. Perf. Tom Hanks Denzel Washinton. TriStar Pictures, 1993. DVD.

"The AIDS Epidemic and Sociological Enquiry." American Sociological Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. <http://www.asanet.org/footnotes/apr01/fn18.html>.