Opinion ID: 73040
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the nature of the risk (how the disease is

Text: transmitted), (b) the duration of the risk (how long is the carrier infectious), (c) the severity of the risk (what is the potential harm to third parties), and (d) the probabilities the disease will be transmitted and will cause varying degrees of harm. 6 The School District concedes that, if Doe is disabled, is otherwise qualified, and has suffered an adverse employment action, then a permanent injunction prohibiting Doe’s transfer based on his HIV status would be appropriate. 11 Id. at 288, 107 S. Ct. at 1131 (quoting Amicus Curiae Brief of the American Medical Association at 19). In making these findings, a district court “normally should defer to the reasonable medical judgments of public health officials.” Id. Once a district court has made the necessary medical findings, it must weigh the statutory goal of ending disabilitybased discrimination against any legitimate concerns regarding “significant health and safety risks.” Id. If the court finds that, on balance, a plaintiff’s disability would render him unqualified for safety reasons, then the court must consider whether the employer can “reasonably accommodate” the plaintiff so that he can perform “the essential functions” of the job in question. Id. at 1131 & 1131 n.17 (quoting 45 C.F.R. § 84.3(k) (1985)). Finally, whatever the district court’s legal conclusion regarding a claim of disqualification due to safety concerns, the court must make explicit both its findings of fact and its application of the law, so as to allow meaningful appellate review. See id. 12 In this case, the district court found, without explanation, that Doe’s HIV infection would pose only a “remote and theoretical” risk to psychoeducational students. R4-59 at 2. Based on this sole finding and “[c]onsidering the four factors delineated in” Arline, the district court relied on our opinion in Martinez v. School Bd. of Hillsborough County, 861 F.2d 1502, 1506 (11th Cir. 1988), to hold that Doe is qualified to be a psychoeducation teacher. R459 at 3. In Martinez, a school sought to segregate a mentally retarded child with AIDS from her classmates. Holding for the school, the district court in Martinez concluded that a “‘remote theoretical possibility’ of transmission” justified her total separation from other students. Martinez, 861 F.2d at 1506. On appeal, we reversed because the danger of transmission did not rise to the “‘significant’ risk level” required for the girl’s exclusion from a regular classroom. Id. In reversing the district court, however, we did not simply direct entry of judgment for the disabled plaintiff. 13 Instead, we observed that the district court had failed to make factual findings regarding all four of the Arline factors (the district court had considered only the likelihood of transmission), and we remanded for further findings and an assessment of the overall risk. See id. at 1506-07. In the present case, the district court has not made any factual findings that might enable us to engage in meaningful appellate review. As in Martinez and Arline, the district court has failed to explain or justify the factual determinations underlying its decision. It is not enough for the district court to invoke Martinez’s phrase regarding a “‘remote theoretical possibility’ of transmission”. Instead, the district court should explain why it believes that the risk posed by Doe is “remote” and should make findings of fact with respect to the Arline factors.7 Because the district court’s factual findings are incomplete and its reasoning is 7 We do not mean to imply that we believe that Doe is not qualified. Because the district court has neither made sufficient findings of fact nor explained its legal reasoning, we are not able to assess whether Doe is “otherwise qualified” for a psychoeducation position. 14 unclear, we vacate the injunction and remand the case to the district court for such further proceedings as it deems necessary for entry of a more explicit rationale for its decision.8