Skip to Main Content

Need help understanding your rights as an LGBTQ+ person or someone living with HIV? Visit our virtual Help Desk.

Pierce v. Ackal

Pierce v. Ackal

Status:

Open

Court:

United States District Court Western District of Louisiana Lafayette Division

Issues:

Employment and Rights in the Workplace, HIV

Clients:

William Pierce

Attorneys:

Lambda Legal

Kenneth D. Upton, Jr., Senior Counsel

Scott A. Schoettes, Counsel and HIV Project Director

Stone Pigman

J. Dalton Courson

Annie G. McBride

Lambda Legal filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Louisiana on behalf of William “Liam” Pierce, after the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s office rescinded a job offer as a Sheriff’s Deputy because he is a person living with HIV.

In 2012, Liam Pierce, a life-long public servant in health and public safety, applied for a position as a sheriff’s deputy with the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office, a job for which he was and is fully qualified. Shortly after his in-person interview, a captain informed him that he would be hired.

However, after Pierce completed a medical examination that noted his HIV status, the job offer was rescinded. Pierce filed a charge of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) a few months later.

In 2016, after investigating Pierce’s claim, the EEOC issued a Determination of Probable Cause stating that the evidence supported Mr. Pierce’s claim against the Iberia Parish Sheriff.