Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office Announces Revisions to Hiring and Training Policies

Sheriff Louis Ackal has announced that, in light of recent developments, he intends to revise the hiring and training policies of the Iberia Parish Sheriff's Office as follows:

• The IPSO hiring policy will include an explicit statement that discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability, including HIV status, is prohibited.
• IPSO will include two (2) hours of mandatory training for all management and supervisory employees addressing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance obligations in hiring.
• IPSO will also include two (2) hours of mandatory training on HIV, actual transmission risks, stigma, and the effects of HIV discrimination for all staff members.
• IPSO will include an HIV discrimination component in new-hire and annual civil rights/nondiscrimination training, including information that medical professionals contacted by IPSO determined that a person living with HIV who has received medical clearance from a medical professional during any fitness-for-duty examination (either pre-employment or during subsequent employment) could safely perform the job as a Sheriff's Deputy without accommodation and that HIV positive status alone is not a disqualifying condition for the job of Sheriff's Deputy.