Business
Day,
IN A bid to resolve
widespread confusion within the legal fraternity about the legality of
conducting workplace HIV testing, the AIDS Law Clinic is considering approaching
the
At issue is whether or
not all HIV workplace testing including voluntary anonymous testing requires
prior approval from the
Voluntary counselling and testing also form an integral part of HIV/AIDS policies that can culminate in the offer of antiretroviral medicines for employees who are HIV-positive.
Law firms such as
Webber Wenzel Bowens and Cliffe Dekker warn that if companies fail to seek
permission from the
However, this view is not shared by all law firms. Daniel du Plessis, an attorney with labour law firm Michael Bagraim & Associates, said he did not believe the Employment Equity Act prohibited workplace HIV testing if the employee had initiated it.
Jennifer Joni, an
attorney with the AIDS Law Clinic, said the organisation was concerned about the
confusion within the legal fraternity, due in part to a