By Cy Ryan, Las Vegas Sun

CARSON CITY — Faced with the threat of a federal lawsuit, the Nevada prison system will no longer apply segregation policies that deny inmates with HIV access to work programs where other prisoners earn credits to reduce the length of their sentences.

The state Department of Corrections “will not support denying an inmate a job or housing an inmate differently from the general population based on the reasoning that they have HIV or other blood-borne disease,” prisons chief James Dzurenda said.

Dzurenda instructed prison officials not to disclose the condition of HIV-infected inmates to correctional officers or those who assign work details. He also said medical records that identify HIV inmates must be kept confidential.

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