The Chiba District Court on Monday declared illegal the dismissal of an HIV-positive Japanese-Brazilian man from a plastic-processing firm following an HIV test conducted without his knowledge.
The court declared null and void the 35-year-old man's dismissal from Takigawa Chemical Industry Ltd. in Ichikawa, Chiba Prefecture, and ordered the firm and a former director of Ichikawa Municipal Higashi Hospital to pay compensation.
The court ruled that the dismissal was based on a blood test conducted by the hospital for Takigawa Chemical without the employee's approval, and ordered that his dismissal be annulled and that he be compensated to the tune of 6.6 million yen.
Judge Yukio Nishijima said: "The discharge is invalid. The hospital violated the plaintiff's privacy by conducting the HIV test without his consent and conveying the results to the company."