LOS ANGELES, April 22 (AFP) - Cirque du Soleil agreed Thursday to pay 600,000 dollars to settle a lawsuit by an HIV-positive gymnast whom the circus fired as a health risk to other performers.
The settlement is considered the nation's largest of its kind. It ended a nationwide campaign and a federal disability complaint filed by the gymnast.
Matthew Cusick was fired because the Canadian circus considered him a health risk to the troupe.
"When I was fired by Cirque du Soleil, it was the worst day of my life. Today is nearly the exact opposite, because I stood up for what I knew was right and changed one of the world's most popular entertainment companies," said Cusick, who described the company's position as a "dream job" for any gymnast.
"This kind of discrimination tears people's dreams and careers apart. While other people in all sorts of professions will still face HIV discrimination, after today they will have a powerful tool with the settlement we reached."
Under the settlement agreement, Cirque du Soleil will host annual anti-discrimination training for all of its employees worldwide and will adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination based on HIV and other disabilities.
"I wish none of this had ever happened, but if it had to happen I'm glad it ended with such a strong settlement that will impact other companies," Cusick said.
"I look forward to opening a new chapter in my life."
For two years Cirque du Soleil will open its records to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), ensuring that the company is in compliance with the agreement, according to the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represented Cusick.
"This is a huge victory for working people with HIV because it tells employers that there's a steep price to pay for HIV discrimination," said Hayley Gorenberg, director of Lambda Legal's AIDS Project and the lead attorney on the case.
"This kind of discrimination still happens all across the country and today's record-setting settlement will have ripple effects nationwide."
According to Lambda, today's agreement is the largest public settlement ever for an HIV-discrimination complaint settled with the EEOC.
Before filing the suit in 2003, Lambda tried to persuade Cirque to change voluntarily.
Although the company's own doctors had cleared Cusick to perform safely for the Las Vegas-based show "Mystere," Cirque du Soleil management told him that because he had HIV he was a "known safety hazard" and the company would not continue to employ him.
The EEOC investigated Cirque du Soleil for several months before ultimately finding that there was "reasonable cause to believe that Cirque du Soleil discriminated against Cusick when it discharged him because of his disability, record of disability and being regarded as disabled."
The EEOC then directed a mediation, which led to the agreement.
Lambda and community leaders launched a nationwide campaign against Cirque du Soleil late last year, which intensified over several months with protests outside Cirque shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Orange County, California.
The settlement of 600,000 dollars includes 40,000 dollars in legal fees for Lambda with the rest going to Cusick. Part of the settlement covers future earnings, since Cirque's public hostility against Cusick over the last year led him to decide not to return to work for the company.
040422
AF040468
©AFP 2004.. All Rights Reserved. AFP articles contained on the AEGiS web site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, published or broadcast without AFP's prior written permission. You may make one copy of each article for your personal, non-commercial use only; more copies would require AFP's prior written permission. http://www.afp.com/
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted grants from Boehringer Ingelheim, Elton John AIDS Foundation, the National Library of Medicine, Bridgestone Firestone Trust Fund and donations from users like you. Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
©1990, 2004 - AEGiS. AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content.
