Cirque pays out.Openly gay gymnast Matthew Cusick may not have his dream job of performing as an acrobat with Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (French for "Circus of the Sun") is an entertainment empire based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy Laliberté and Daniel Gauthier. , but he feels his experience will help other HIV-positive athletes in the performance arena. Cusick, 32, was fired by the Montreal-based troupe last year for being HIV-positive. He filed a complaint under the Americans With Disabilities Act Americans with Disabilities Act, U.S. civil-rights law, enacted 1990, that forbids discrimination of various sorts against persons with physical or mental handicaps. , and in January, Cirque offered to rehire Re`hire´ v. t. 1. To hire again. him. But on April 22, Cusick decided instead to settle for $600,000. "I think the settlement sends a message to other employers," Cusick said. "If you discriminate against people, there's going to be a price to pay." Cirque's Renee-Claude Menard said the company now regrets firing Cusick. "We didn't have all the knowledge on what HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. is and how it's transmitted, Menard said. |
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