On Tuesday, a unanimous three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the State Department must stand trial for failing to hire a qualified man as a foreign-service officer solely because he is HIV-positive. Lorenzo Taylor, 47, was denied employment in the State Department because of a 2001 medical review.

State Department regulations say new employees must be available for worldwide service and that being HIV-positive is an automatic exclusion. Current employees who test positive are allowed to work as long as their health allows.

With the assistance of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, Taylor sought reasonable accommodations: a medical exemption or using vacation and sick leave when doctor visits were necessary. Exhausting all administrative solutions, Taylor filed suit in 2002, charging a violation of the Rehabilitation Act. In April 2005, a judge ruled in favor of the State Department.

Writing for all three judges, Judge A. Raymond Randolph found there were matters of fact in contention on all the points on which the original judge had ruled for the State Department. Specifically, the judges noted exemptions to the policy were given to a dozen new employees and that accommodations were given to employees who seroconverted.

Lambda Legal attorney Jon Givner said he is "pleased to see that the court sees through the faulty reasoning used [by] the State Department to substantiate discriminatory and baseless policy. This ruling establishes that our client must have his day in court."

Lambda Legal has an ongoing petition campaign to urge Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to reverse the policy, which she can do. The group delivered 5,000 petitions to the department on June 8 and has been collecting additional signatures.

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