I am in the post job offer phase of employment at a local hospital. After the offer was made the hospital became aware of my hiv+ status. The hospital has a policy that I must see their M.D. every six months who will determine whether I can continue working or not. I am an RN. I feel this is not acceptable but very much need to take this job. Is it legal for them to require me to see their M.D. Can they require me to get blood drawn and test done too reguarding my HIV status?

Hospitals set their own policies on HIV-positive employees. It's probably just as well; otherwise the job would be done by legislators. They are within their rights as long as they treat all employees with HIV in the same way.

Go ahead and take the job, and work on developing a strong, positive relationship with the MD whom you'll be seeing. It sounds as though they've set a policy to make sure they're fair in determining whether a person with HIV is able to fulfill all of the essential functions of the job as the months/years go by. I doubt that that will involve blood tests, but if they do request blood, learn all you can about why. Sometimes employers get a little fuzzy about the line between being your employer and your health care provider, so your questions about why you can't just take care of this with your own provider may serve to remind them. Good luck with the job. I encourage you to think about being part of the solution to the problem of HIV-positive health care workers and their rights and responsibilities by being proactive in this job.