Ohio HIV Laws: Disclosure, Confidentiality, and Testing

Ohio HIV laws combine strict criminal penalties for non-disclosure before sexual contact, strong confidentiality rules around test results and diagnoses, mandatory public health reporting, and a private right to sue when your status is mishandled. On top of those state rules, federal law protects people with HIV from discrimination at work, in housing, and in health insurance. Here is how each piece works and where the lines are drawn.

When Non-Disclosure Becomes a Felony

Under ORC 2903.11, a person who knows they carry HIV commits felonious assault by engaging in sexual conduct without first telling their partner. The statute does not require that HIV was actually transmitted, that the person intended to transmit it, or that the specific act carried a meaningful transmission risk. Knowledge of status plus non-disclosure is enough.¹

Three situations trigger the charge:

Sexual conduct with any partner who has not been told the offender is HIV-positive.
Sexual conduct with a person the offender knows or has reason to believe cannot understand the significance of that status.
Sexual conduct with a person under 18 who is not the offender’s spouse.

A conviction is a second-degree felony. Sentencing carries an indefinite prison term with a court-selected minimum of two to eight years.² The court can add a fine of up to $15,000.³

Ohio’s statute is written around disclosure, not danger. Maintaining an undetectable viral load, using a condom, or engaging in conduct that poses negligible transmission risk are not defenses under the current law. Other states have rewritten their HIV criminal statutes to require intent to transmit or conduct likely to transmit. Ohio has not.

Harassment With a Bodily Substance

ORC 2921.38 addresses a different scenario: intentionally causing or trying to cause another person to come into contact with blood, urine, feces, or other bodily substances in order to harass, annoy, threaten, or alarm them. When the offender knows they carry HIV, hepatitis, or tuberculosis, the offense is a third-degree felony.⁴

On the prosecutor’s request, a court can also order the accused to be tested for HIV, hepatitis, and tuberculosis, with the cost charged to the offender unless they cannot pay.⁴

HIV Testing and Consent

ORC 3701.242 sets a light-touch consent standard for HIV testing. A healthcare provider can order the test when the patient has given general consent for medical treatment and has been notified that an HIV test is planned. That notification can be verbal, written, electronic, or any mix.⁵

If the result comes back positive, the ordering provider must give post-test counseling. The Ohio Department of Health may issue rules on what that counseling covers.⁵

Two rights are worth keeping in mind. Anyone seeking a test has the right to request an anonymous test, and a provider that doesn’t offer anonymous testing must refer the person to a site that does. And a minor can consent to an HIV test on their own; that consent cannot be voided because of the minor’s age, and parents are not responsible for the cost of a test they did not authorize.⁵

Confidentiality of Your HIV Status

ORC 3701.243 bars any person or government agency that learns HIV test results or an AIDS diagnosis through providing healthcare from disclosing the identity of the person tested, the results tied to that person, or the identity of anyone diagnosed with AIDS or an AIDS-related condition.⁶

The statute carves out narrow exceptions: the tested individual themselves, providers involved in treatment, court orders, and certain public health uses spelled out in the statute. Outside those channels, sharing someone’s HIV status without authorization violates Ohio law.⁶

Suing Over a Privacy Violation

ORC 3701.244 gives you a civil cause of action when someone knowingly violates the consent, confidentiality, or notification provisions of Ohio’s HIV statutes. A court can award compensatory damages, injunctions or other equitable relief, and reasonable attorney’s fees if you prevail.⁷

Several limits shape the claim, and missing any of them can end it:

You must file within one year of the violation. There is no extension for late discovery.
An employer is only liable for an employee’s unauthorized disclosure if the employer knew or should have known.
A person who acted in good faith under the testing, confidentiality, or notification statutes is not liable for damages.
This civil action is the exclusive remedy. You cannot bring parallel claims under other Ohio statutes for the same conduct.

The same statute also says no one is liable for failing to disclose another person’s HIV status to a third party unless disclosure is specifically required by law.⁷

Public Health Reporting

ORC 3701.24 requires every confirmed positive HIV test, every AIDS case, and every AIDS-related condition to be reported to the Ohio Department of Health. The Director of Health designates by rule which professionals must file those reports.⁸

Under the administrative code, healthcare providers report each HIV infection to the local health district for the patient’s residence within five calendar days of diagnosis, and laboratories report confirmed positive results within five calendar days.⁹

Reported information that identifies an individual is confidential. It can only be released with written consent, to provide treatment, under a court order, or through a subpoena tied to a criminal investigation. The department uses the data to track trends and allocate prevention and treatment funding, not to prosecute.⁸

Exposure Notification for EMS and Funeral Workers

ORC 3701.248 gives emergency medical services workers and funeral services workers a way to learn whether they were exposed to HIV or another infectious disease through contact with a patient. A worker who believes a significant exposure occurred can submit a written request to the healthcare facility or coroner that received the patient and ask to be notified of any infectious disease test results.¹⁰

The request must include the worker’s name, address, and phone number; the employer or organization they volunteer for; and the date, time, location, and circumstances of the exposure. A “significant exposure” means contact with blood, semen, vaginal secretions, or certain other bodily fluids through a break in the skin or mucous membrane, or exposure to a contagious disease.¹⁰

The statute covers EMTs, paramedics, funeral directors, and embalmers. It does not extend broadly to police or firefighters, though firefighters with dual certification as emergency medical personnel would qualify in that role.

Workplace Protections

The Americans with Disabilities Act treats HIV as a disability. Ohio employers with 15 or more employees cannot fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against someone because of HIV status, so long as the individual can perform the essential functions of the job with or without a reasonable accommodation.¹¹

Accommodations an employer may need to provide include flexible scheduling for medical appointments, additional rest or restroom breaks, ergonomic furniture, permission to work from home, screen-reading software for vision problems, and unpaid leave for treatment. Reassignment to a vacant position is also possible if you can no longer perform your current role. An employer can refuse only by showing “undue hardship,” meaning significant difficulty or expense, which is a high bar.¹¹

Employers generally cannot ask about your HIV status or require a medical exam unless the question is job-related and consistent with business necessity. If you believe you were discriminated against, you can file a charge with the EEOC. Because Ohio has a state civil rights agency, the filing deadline is 300 calendar days from the discriminatory act rather than the standard 180.¹²

Housing and Insurance

The federal Fair Housing Act treats HIV as a disability, so landlords, real estate agents, and other housing providers cannot refuse to rent or sell to you because of your status. The protection also covers people who are perceived to have HIV and people associated with someone who does. Landlords cannot ask about the nature of a disability, impose discriminatory lease terms, or refuse a reasonable accommodation or modification tied to the condition.¹³

You can file a complaint with HUD within one year of the last discriminatory act. HUD investigates, tries to conciliate, and, if it finds reasonable cause, issues a formal charge of discrimination. You then have 20 days to choose between a federal court trial and a hearing before a HUD administrative law judge. HUD attorneys represent complainants at no cost in administrative hearings.¹³

On the health insurance side, the Affordable Care Act prohibits insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums because of HIV status. Insurers also cannot set lifetime or annual dollar limits on essential health benefits, which include HIV-related treatment and medication.¹⁴

1
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2903.11 – Felonious Assault
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2929.14 – Definite Prison Terms
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2929.18 – Financial Sanctions – Felony
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 2921.38 – Harassment With a Bodily Substance
5
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3701.242 – Informed Consent to HIV Test Required
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3701.243 – Disclosing of HIV Test Results or Diagnosis
7
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3701.244 – Civil Actions
8
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3701.24 – Report as to Contagious or Infectious Diseases – AIDS and HIV
9
Legal Information Institute. Ohio Admin Code 3701-3-12 – AIDS, ARC, and HIV Test Reporting
10
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3701.248 – Emergency Medical or Funeral Services Worker Exposed to Contagious or Infectious Disease May Request Notice of Test Results
11
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Helping Patients with HIV Infection Who Need Accommodations at Work
12
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Time Limits for Filing a Charge
13
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Learn About FHEO’s Process to Report and Investigate Housing Discrimination
14
HIV.gov. The Affordable Care Act and HIV/AIDS