Consent Decree, United States v. Compass Career Management, No. 15-CV-1347 (E.D.La. 2015)

This consent decree is the result of a lawsuit filed by the Disabilities Rights Section of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division against Compass Career College (the “College”), a private vocational education and career training college in Hammond, Louisiana. The government’s complaint alleged that the College discriminated against an applicant living with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101 et seq., by refusing him admittance into its nursing program after it learned he was living with HIV. In a far-reaching consent decree, dated May 1, 2015, the College agreed, among other things, to remove a variety of barriers to people with HIV and other disabilities from its programs, develop and implement an ADA training program, and pay $30,000 compensatory damages to the student and a $5,000 fine. The case confirms the ADA's protections against discrimination for people living with HIV who wish to pursue training and employment in the health care industry through enrollment in vocational and trade schools and colleges.