The following is a formal complaint and petition letter put together by activist James Harris…

I was absolutely appalled to hear of the recent indignant treatment of a former employee of Great Expressions Dental Care in Detroit.

After being diagnosed with HIV, James White was banned from touching doorknobs, was followed around by coworkers with bottles of Lysol, and subjected to sudden and abrupt schedule changes. After complying with the schedule changes, he was written up for “unexcused absences.”

After seven months of enduring this vitriolic, unjustified discrimination, White fell ill and was hospitalized for a week. Great Expressions Dental called to terminate his employment the day before he was scheduled to return back to work.

White’s lawyer, Nicole Thompson, has received the “right to sue” letter from the EEOC and is currently in the process of filing a lawsuit demanding compensatory and punitive damages of $140,000 and $45,000, respectively, and requiring the company to post notice of the agreement as well as providing training on HIV/AIDS and the Americans with Disabilities Act. White’s lawyers are calling his case “the worst case of HIV discrimination they’ve ever handled.”

This extreme case of HIV discrimination and gross violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act is absolutely unacceptable. Every reputable medical establishment in the U.S., including the United States Centers for Disease Control, agrees that HIV/AIDS is not transmitted by casual contact. Certainly, it is not transmitted by touching doorknobs or sharing counter space. If it were, the number of Americans living with HIV would be dramatically higher. As medical professionals I would expect you of all people to know this.

These acts were not ordered out of concern for public safety, but rather were sheer acts of unfounded hatred and inequity.

We will not stand for this. We demand the immediate resignation of the regional director of Great Expressions Dental in Detroit for discriminatory tactics and hindrance of employment equal opportunity. Furthermore, we demand that reparations be paid in full to Mr. White for the entirety of what is being asked.

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