There are many problems in placing excessive faith in judicial and legislative responses to resolve the workplace problems faced by PWA. The expense of civil litigation in the United States and the lengthy appeal system increases the likelihood that private sector employers will attempt to outlast the litigant financially. Though base in its extreme, the possibility exists that an employer on the losing end of an employment discrimination case will continue hopeless appeals in the hope that the PWA will succumb to their illness and a court ordered settlement will be difficult to enforce.

Hale contends undoubtedly that an employer who has a PWA within the ranks will ponder over the costs of employee benefits to a person with this diagnosis. While there are a plethora of myths and misinformation that is associated with the costs of health care coverage for a PWA, the economic costs associated with AIDS warrants employer concern. This is an era in which more efficient and more expensive treatments are being developed, both life expectancy and costs are expected to increase. Hale goes on to state that the estimates of the total lifetime health care costs for an individual AIDS patient range from $65,000 to $80,000.

Cole shares that currently there are very few work sites that have a formal HIV/AIDS policy. In a national survey of work sites with 50 or more employees, 22% reported having a formal HIV/AIDS policy. With these daunting numbers, one may wonder what place, if any, does HIV/AIDS education and sexuality education fit into companies. The need for such education is critical when a lack of accurate AIDS information and attitudes towards homosexuality contribute to hostility toward coworkers, states Summers, in the article entitled, “Determinants of the acceptance of coworkers with AIDS”. Pryor, Reeder, and McManus cited a study conducted within Illinois State University, 250 students were identified as having either acceptable attitudes of homosexuals or attitudes that were pejorative of homosexuals. The students were shown a film after which it was suspected by the principal investigator that persons with favorable attitudes towards homosexuals would have had positive reactions toward the film. Their counterparts were suspected to have less favorable attitudes of the film. If employers wish to create a more conductive work environment for PWA, it appears that anti-homosexual attitudes will need to be addressed. As part of new AIDS educational initiatives within the workforce, employers should seek out views of sexuality in order to assist in making the work site environment more favorable for PWA. These people can serve as advocates for employees with AIDS when needed.