Cirque du Soleil Settles Discrimination Case

Cirque du Soleil agreed in April to pay $600,000 to settle a federal HIV discrimination complaint brought by gymnast Matthew Cusick, who was fired by the international circus troupe in April 2003 because he is HIV-positive. The settlement was mediated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which ordered Cirque to change its discrimination policy to include HIV and hold annual antidiscrimination training for employees. 'This is a huge victory for working people with HIV because it tells employers that there is a steep price to pay for HIV discrimination,' says Hayley Gorenberg, director of Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund's AIDS Project and the lead attorney on the case. HIV Plus reported on HIV discrimination in the workplace, including the Cirque du Soleil case, in the May 2004 issue; view the article online: No More Tears.