U.S. Department of Justice, Settlement Agreement Between the United States of America and Night and Day Dental, Inc. under the Americans With Disabilities Act, DJ # 202-54-195 (June 16, 2021)

On June 16, 2021 the Justice Department announced that it reached an agreement with Night and Day Dental, Inc., which operated nine clinics in North Carolina, to resolve a claim that discriminated against a woman living with HIV in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

Night and Day Dental had discriminated against a woman living with HIV when it refused to accept her as a new patient because of her HIV status.  The patient was seeking routine dental care, including a cleaning and check-up. Also, Night and Day Dental's policy of requiring certain bloodwork results from patients living with HIV before deciding whether to provide dental care also violates the ADA because such testing and results are not medically necessary or recommended. 

Under the agreement, Night and Day Dental must pay $30,000 to the woman; must train its staff on the ADA; develop and use a non-discrimination policy; and report and explain to the DOJ any time it either refuses to treat a person lliving with HIV, or stops providing treatment after learning of a patient’s HIV status.

The agreement occurs twnety-three years after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bragdon v Abbott, which concluded that a dentist's refusal to provide dental care to a woman living with HIV violates the ADA.