A detention center in northern Louisiana reached a settlement with the Department of Justice over an HIV discrimination case in which a detainee were isolated in segregated housing for nearly six months because he has HIV.

The Union Parish Detention Center in Farmerville will pay $27,500 to the inmate and will adopt nondiscrimination policies and train its staff about such obligations, according to a press release from the Department of Justice.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits public entities from discriminating against people who have disabilities, including having HIV.

The Justice Department settlement “ensures that Union Parish Detention Center will respect the right of individuals with HIV to equal treatment under the law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division in the press release. “Segregation of detainees with HIV in jails or prisons is unlawful, subjects individuals to unwarranted stigma and harm, and will not be tolerated by this Justice Department.”

To learn more about the ADA, you can call the toll-free ADA information line at 800.514.0301 or 800.514.0383 or visit ADA.gov.

To read the full text of the ADA settlement, click here. And to read similar articles in POZ, click #Discrimination and #Americans With Disabilities Act.