Subjects:
The Paul Cronan story is a depiction of America’s prejudices and the reason why employment laws are necessary. Mr. Cronan was a long-time employee of New England Telephone Company since 1973, whose sexual preferences caused him to contact Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). As a service technician, his ailment left him missing work often to gain necessary treatment. His supervisor confronted him asking for explanation as to the missed work, and even though this supervisor promised confidentiality, word quickly spread of Mr. Cronan’s ailment. Prejudices were evident as outlined in the case study, leaving him to fear of his safety on a daily basis. As his company illness benefits were discontinued, NET placed Mr. Cronan on Long-Term Disability, effectively terminating his employment and leaving the man with half his normal monthly income.
In December of 1985, Mr. Cronan enlisted the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts (CLUM) to assist in filing a civil lawsuit charging violations of privacy law and discrimination against him. Through an out-of-court settlement it was agreed that Mr. Cronan could return to work and accommodations would be made at NET
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Company policies should be clarified to address the harassment and discrimination seen in this issue. A walkout ensued as workers refused to enter the premises to gain work assignments. Cronan seeks only to work full time as he had been released to do.
First the company has a right to protect the confidentiality of Mr. One must give credit to the education of employees that may themselves identify medical symptoms and self-identify or diagnose, only to spread this awareness to other coworkers. Violence in the workplace cannot be tolerated at any level
The company also has the ethical responsibility to protect the interests of the public as provider of a service. The supervisor does have a responsibility to keep his managers above him informed, and was bound as management to move the information upward, and this action should not have threatened the confidentiality, all managers should have maintained the same strict guidelines to protect the interest of their employee. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for workers with disabilities. However, his frequently required time off for medical treatments/hospitalizations caused the actions of NET. I did not see the company adequately dealing with blatant observations of prejudices and discrimination against Mr. Cronan himself could have leaked the information and we would not have known. The education of employees in regards to this situation was not accomplished fully.
The company violated confidentiality issues, however, this is a very difficult issue and one that practicality is often missed.
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