Cirque expresses regrets over gymnast’s treatment

Friday, April 23, 2004 | 10:36 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Cirque du Soleil expressed regret Thursday that its ignorance of HIV-transmission risks led it to fire a gymnast -- and regret that the gymnast later rejected offers to be reinstated.

Cirque agreed Thursday to pay $600,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by Matthew Cusick, 32, of Maryland, who is HIV-positive.

"They said I was a hazard not just to other performers, but to the crew and possibly the audience," Cusick said Thursday in a telephone interview with the Associated Press. "I think the settlement sends a message to other employers if you discriminate against people there's going to be a price to pay."

Cusick was a "catcher" in the Russian High Bar act and an acrobat in the Chinese tall pole act. He voluntarily disclosed his health status and spent four months training with the group. He was fired just days before he was to join the "Mystere" show in Las Vegas.

Cusick filed a complaint last July under the Americans With Disabilities Act, which includes protections for people with HIV.

Six months later, just hours after federal labor investigators found "reasonable cause" to believe the Montreal-based circus engaged in job discrimination, Cirque du Soleil offered to reinstate Cusick.

Cusick refused.

"I thought a lot about it because a dream is very hard to walk away from," Cusick said. "I can't go back and work for a company that stood so strongly against me."

Cirque du Soleil spokeswoman Renee-Claude Menard said Thursday the company regretted firing Cusick and said it made the decision out of ignorance.

"We didn't have all the knowledge on what HIV is and how it's transmitted," Menard said. "We were very genuine in saying that we wanted him back. He could've done so much to raise awareness."

Instead, months of negotiations with Cirque du Soleil through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission resulted in Thursday's settlement, which is the largest EEOC settlement for an HIV complaint, according to the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represented Cusick.

"This kind of discrimination tears people's dreams and careers apart," Cusick said. "While other people in all sorts of professions will still face HIV discrimination, after today they have a powerful tool with the settlement we reached."

Under the terms of the settlement, Cirque du Soleil also agreed to provide annual mandatory anti-discrimination training for its employees worldwide and to adopt a zero-tolerance discrimination policy. It also will leave its records open to the EEOC for two years to ensure it follows the requirements of the agreement, Lambda Legal said.

Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil has 2,700 employees worldwide.

"When I was fired from Cirque du Soleil, it was the worst day of my life," Cusick said in a statement issued by the EEOC. "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."

The settlement was reached with the EEOC's Los Angeles office before a lawsuit was filed and Cirque du Soleil agreed to let the EEOC publicize the case.

"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." Hayley Gorenberg, director of Lambda Legal's AIDS Project, said in a statement.

The EEOC, in investigating Cusick's allegations, found there was "reasonable cause" that the circus violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discriminating against workers just because they have a medical or physical condition.

Cusick will receive $300,000 in compensatory damages, the most allowed under the disabilities act, $260,000 in wages and $40,000 in legal fees.