Know Your Rights, Connecticut – HIV, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), 2014

Know Your Rights, Connecticut – HIV is a fact sheet created by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders that summarizes the rights of people living with HIV in Connecticut. It provides a description of how, both under Connecticut and federal law, discrimination on the basis of HIV status is prohibited.  

In Connecticut, an employer may not refuse to hire, fire, or discriminate against a person regarding the terms or conditions of employment based on that person’s HIV status. A person may not be denied access to housing, evicted, or refused financing because of their HIV status. Also, discrimination based on HIV status against students in a public school or most private schools is prohibited.

There are no specific criminal laws concerning HIV exposure or transmission in Connecticut. HIV-related information may not be released without written consent in Connecticut, except in a few specifically prescribed circumstances.

A person may be tested for HIV with general consent for medical care, unless it is made clear that they do not want to be tested for HIV. However, mandatory testing is required for pregnant women and their child, once it is born, unless it conflicts with the mother’s religion.