Pictured Cusick was at the Lambda Legal Midwest Bon Foster lecture last week at the MCA. He spoke about the settlement, which was just announced a few hours before. He's here with Lambda Midwest Director Mona Noriega. Photo by Tracy Baim
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Lambda Legal announced April 22 that Cirque du Soleil will pay a record $600,000 to end an HIV discrimination complaint filed by a performer who was fired last year because he has HIV.
The settlement ends a nationwide campaign and a federal disability complaint filed by Lambda Legal on behalf of its client, Matthew 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.'
The agreement is believed to be the largest public settlement ever for an HIV-discrimination complaint settled with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
'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 Cirque position as a 'dream job' for any gymnast. 'This kind of discrimination tears people's dreams and careers apart.
Under the settlement agreement, Cirque du Soleil will host annual anti-discrimination trainings for all of its employees worldwide and will adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward discrimination based on HIV and other disabilities.
For two years Cirque will have its records open to the EEOC, ensuring that the company is in compliance with today's agreement.