Poz Helicopter Paramedic Sues Employer for Discrimination

Clint Moore was a flight paramedic working to transport patients via helicopter to medical facilities across five states since 2008. Then in 2013, he learned he was HIV positive. 

Shortly after, he informed his employer, Missouri-based helicopter ambulance service Air Evac Lifeteam, who told Moore he would need to file a petition with the medical board in each state the company operated in order to keep his position. Moore refused and took a lower paying job as a dispatcher with the company in order to retain his health benefits. 

Now, Lambda Legal has filed a federal law suit against AirEvac Lifeteam in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on behalf of Moore. 

"Sadly, people living with HIV too often find themselves terminated from jobs solely because of their HIV-positive status," Kyle Palazzolo, HIV project staff attorney at Lambda Legal, said in a statement. "Clint and many others like him still suffer the consequences of their employers' fear and ignorance."

"Mr. Moore's HIV-positive status did not interfere with his ability to perform his job duties, and Air Evac Lifeteam overreacted and unlawfully pulled Clint from the job he loved," he said. 

The lawsuit claims that Air Evac Lifeteam violated Moore's rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Missouri Human Rights Act. 

"This conduct is especially troubling from an employer in the health care field, who should already be aware that Mr. Moore's HIV-positive status did not present a risk to either his patients or his coworkers," Palazzo said. "AEL and other employers in the health care industry need to get up to speed and stop discriminating against people living with HIV based on outdated science and misconceptions."