Do Employers (in a Medical Setting) Have The Right to Know If a Employee Has HIV?

 To day while in my Phlebotomy class we had a debate as to weather a employer  ( hospital or medical clinic) has the right to know if a employee has HIV or  not. This class was split half and half. Some brought up that employers do back ground checks, and based upon there findings they will either hire a potential employee with no criminal background before they hire a potential employee with felony. So why not do health screens on potential nurses or other health care providers to make sure that they do not have a communicable disease. Some  say that is invasions of privacy, while others say stated that they wouldn’t want a infected nurse or any other health care provide treat them with a infectious disease. I personally think that yes the employee should be screened for communicable diseases. You never know what could happen in a health care setting. Everything and anything is possible. For instance lets say that a nurse with HIV pokes herself with a needle or cuts herself with something like a broken vile of blood or a scalpel, and you go to help that nurse and cut yourself with the same object, that may have her blood on it. Would you not want to know if that nurse has a communicable disease? Yes, i agree it is a violation of privacy, but i would rather be safe then sorry. I have heard so many incidents of where a health care worker has been charged with a crime for infecting patients with Hep C or HIV. What are your opinions on the subject?