Circus defends policy on HIV-infected gymnast

Single Sign-On: You can use Facebook account to log in to LasVegasSun.com. (We will use your first and last name from your profile.)
Trusted Commenting: Facebook connected users automatically become trusted commenters.

Thursday, Dec. 18, 2003 | 11:18 a.m.

But the Montreal-based circus maintains that because of the specialized nature of what it does, it is legally entitled as an employer to decide whether to keep individuals with HIV out of jobs that "involve constant bodily contact with others."

The Human Rights Commission is investigating whether Cirque du Soleil violated local laws by firing Matthew Cusick, an HIV-infected gymnast scheduled to begin performing at the "Mystere" show in Las Vegas in April. Last month, the circus opened a seven-week gig in San Francisco, where it has been the target of protesters.

"Cirque categorically denies that it discriminates against any individual on the basis of HIV status," the company's Las Vegas lawyer, Scott Abbott, wrote in a five-page response to the commission's complaint.