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KPMG made employee with HIV/AIDS wear latex gloves while working at his desk.

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KPMG made employee with HIV/AIDS wear latex gloves while working at his desk.

James Keith Lackie is suing one of the biggest accounting firms in the country, claiming his supervisor tried forcing him to wear latex gloves among other indignities after he revealed he was HIV positive.

"I was shocked at first," Lackie recalled. "My immediate response was absolutely not. That it was unnecessary and humiliating,"

According to Lackie, on March 10, 2004 he was fired from his job as a senior operation services specialist where he had worked at the Dallas branch of KPMG, located at 717 Harwood, since November 2000.

When he started at the company, Lackie was just a temporary worker. But in two weeks, the company asked him to become a permanent employee. As the year drew to a close, Lackie was given a transfer to a more prestigious position. By September 2001, he was promoted to his senior position.

In March of 2002 Lackie was assigned a new supervisor, Paula Rogers. "I liked her at first. I thought we had similar management styles. I thought we were going to have a good working relationship and in fact, we did for the first few months."

Months later in June, Lackie was working on a hotel assignment, making sure various employees and clients at KPMG would have everything they needed for an important meeting. But at the end of a 14 1/2 hour day, Lackie who was spent, told Rogers he had to go home and rest.

The next day, he called Human Resources and asked that he work no more than 40 hours a week.

Two weeks later, Human Resources held a tense meeting between Lackie and Rogers where he revealed that the reason he couldn't work such long hours was because he was battling HIV/AIDS. "The H.R. representative said she admittedly didn't know much about the disease, but she was going to do her best to learn. [Rogers] said nothing."

Half an hour later, Rogers approached Lackie's desk telling him he would have to wear latex gloves while he worked. "She said it as if she was angry with me."

A witness says that's when Rogers raised her voice so everyone could hear her explain that she thought the gloves were necessary because no one else in the department had AIDS.

According to the lawsuit, Rogers wouldn't let the issue die. Another surpervisor within the department said Rogers revealed Lackie's HIV status, which is a breach of the Texas Health and Safety Code.

Lackie described how the harassment continued. At one point Rogers had Lackie train other employees how to do his job and then transferred Lackie to the mailroom. According to the lawsuit, Rogers whittled away every responsibility Lackie had and enjoyed until all he was left with was sorting and delivering mail.

But the onus of the lawsuit does not simply lie with Rogers. Throughout this ordeal, Rogers insists he complained to Human Resources, only to be ignored.

In September 2003, Rogers put Lackie on probation after writing him a negative performance review.

Pat Lackie, his mother, remembered how desperate her son sounded on the phone. "Every night when he called he was always upset with what happened at work. He was going through it, but I was going through it as well. And it was a big worry the way that she was treating him. And it went on and on and on."

"Some people don't know anything and they make up their own stories. They don't understand the disease. This woman should go through management training. He went through hell and so did I."

A psychiatrist concluded in October that Lackie was suffering from anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, and placed him on high doses of Welbutrin and Xanax. Lackie went on disability until his benefits ran out and his company terminated his employment.

"I was pretty upset. I immediately called Rob Wiley, my attorney, and told him I had gotten word."

According to the lawsuit, which was filed June 10, 2004, in Texas state court, Lackie suffered damages from conduct that was both "extreme and outrageous." The suit contends that officials at KPMG knew what was happening since Human Resources became involved.

In the past KPMG has done well on GLBT issues. DiversityInc.com awarded KPMG as one of the "Top 10 Companies for gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender [GLBT] employees" in [2003] for its same-sex domestic partner benefits and a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation. KPMG was lauded for actively recruiting GLBT employees and advertising in gay media.

Texas Triangle tried reaching Paula Rogers as well as KPMG's legal counsel for their side of the story. The only person who would comment for the other side was Alec Houston, who handles communications for the company. "As a matter of policy, KPMG does not discuss human resources matters. We also do not discuss pending litigation."

Attorney Rob Wiley, who represents Lackie, was also reluctant to discuss specifics of the case. The attorney, who focuses on employment as it relates to the gay and lesbian community, told the Triangle he was confident of the merits of the case since "Texas has a state version of the Americans with Disabilities Act."

Wiley believes Texas law protects against HIV/AIDS discrimination based on the Bragdon v. Abbott case that sided with an HIV positive woman who was denied access to her dentist's office.

Wiley said in Dallas, cases take a year and half from filing to go to trial.

Lackie hopes when the trial is finished, Rogers will be reprimanded, but he doesn't want her to lose her job. "I think she needs management training."

"I would like to see KPMG learn a lesson. I would like to see them train their supervisors not just how to work with people with AIDS but with all disabilities. Because if they had this, none of this would have happened."
 
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