Wednesday, February 08, 2006
News story....
Thank god for my co-workers…..one of my friends found the details of the story in the local newspaper…it follows below.
From the Wilmington Star News
Article published Feb 7, 2006Restaurant reaches settlement with fired HIV-positive workerAn out-of-court settlement was reached Friday in the case of a Wrightsville Beach restaurant employee who claimed he was fired in July 2004 because he was HIV-positive.The idea that Aron Pelela presented a health risk to co-workers and customers is wrong, a New Hanover Health Department employee said Monday.Pelela, now 31, was a cook at Mike & Katy’s Causeway Café, 114 Causeway Drive, when he was dismissed. Pelela filed a wrongful termination federal lawsuit in October claiming the restaurant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects people from discrimination based on disabilities.The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington. Details of the settlement remain confidential. As part of the agreement, Causeway Café agreed to establish and implement a nondiscriminatory policy regarding the hiring and retention of employees infected with HIV, along with informational training sessions for all full-time workers.A lawyer for owner David Monaghan said Monday that there never was a discriminatory policy in place at the restaurant, and other undisclosed issues played a role in Pelela’s firing.Pelela, who lives in Wilmington, was not available Monday for comment. After he was fired, he retained Raleigh lawyer Joyce L. Davis, who contacted Lambda Legal, a national organization that advocates for the civil rights of people with HIV and others, including lesbians, gays and bisexuals.Lambda Legal took up Pelela’s cause.“There will be some compensation going to Mr. Pelela,” said Greg Nevins, of Lambda Legal’s Southern regional office in Atlanta. “He not only wanted something for him but to make sure it didn’t happen again.”Nevins said Pelela told his supervisor at the restaurant that he was HIV-positive, which led to his dismissal less than three weeks after being hired.Pelela was required to present test results “showing that he was HIV negative as a condition of continued employment,” the lawsuit states. As a result of losing his job, Pelela suffered severe emotional distress, loss of wages and loss of other employee benefits, it adds.Monaghan referred comment to his lawyer, Andrew Hanley.“I’m sure we would have been vindicated in court, but this would have cost us an awful lot of money fighting this national organization,” Hanley said. “We’re a restaurant in Wrightsville Beach, and we can’t afford to fight this powerful gay and lesbian lobby. His is a small local business that’s never been sued for discrimination because it has never discriminated.”The bottom line for the restaurant, Hanley said, is this: “Any time someone poses a health risk, my client is going to do the right thing. They couldn’t say Mr. Pelela didn’t pose a health risk to fellow employees or customers.”New Hanover County health officials said Monday that HIV-positive individuals are not a threat in a restaurant setting.“We would say there’s no reason an HIV-positive person cannot work in a restaurant. HIV is not transmitted through food handling,” said Janet McCumbee, New Hanover County Health Department personal health services manager.“There are probably a lot of HIV-positive people working in restaurants. That is something you don’t have to reveal to your boss,” she said.Restaurant employees are not permitted to work if they have an infectious communicable disease such as hepatitis A or salmonella, McCumbee said.“There is no risk of transmission of HIV through the preparation of food, yet misconceptions remain about coming into contact with people who are HIV-positive posing some risk to others,” Nevins said. “There’s a 20-year track record.”Davis said Pelela has been HIV-positive “for a significant period of time” but is asymptomatic.“The most critical point to the agreement is the training and the education. We believe it is very important,” Davis said.After being fired, Pelela filed discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In August, the EEOC “found reasonable cause to believe that the violations of the statute occurred,” according to the lawsuit.Davis said Pelela presented his restaurant supervisors with literature from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that “food service workers known to be infected with HIV need not be restricted from work unless they have other infections or illnesses,” but he still was fired. Ken Little: 343-2389ken.little@starnewsonline.com
¶ 2/08/2006 05:10:00 AM
From the Wilmington Star News
Article published Feb 7, 2006Restaurant reaches settlement with fired HIV-positive workerAn out-of-court settlement was reached Friday in the case of a Wrightsville Beach restaurant employee who claimed he was fired in July 2004 because he was HIV-positive.The idea that Aron Pelela presented a health risk to co-workers and customers is wrong, a New Hanover Health Department employee said Monday.Pelela, now 31, was a cook at Mike & Katy’s Causeway Café, 114 Causeway Drive, when he was dismissed. Pelela filed a wrongful termination federal lawsuit in October claiming the restaurant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, which protects people from discrimination based on disabilities.The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Wilmington. Details of the settlement remain confidential. As part of the agreement, Causeway Café agreed to establish and implement a nondiscriminatory policy regarding the hiring and retention of employees infected with HIV, along with informational training sessions for all full-time workers.A lawyer for owner David Monaghan said Monday that there never was a discriminatory policy in place at the restaurant, and other undisclosed issues played a role in Pelela’s firing.Pelela, who lives in Wilmington, was not available Monday for comment. After he was fired, he retained Raleigh lawyer Joyce L. Davis, who contacted Lambda Legal, a national organization that advocates for the civil rights of people with HIV and others, including lesbians, gays and bisexuals.Lambda Legal took up Pelela’s cause.“There will be some compensation going to Mr. Pelela,” said Greg Nevins, of Lambda Legal’s Southern regional office in Atlanta. “He not only wanted something for him but to make sure it didn’t happen again.”Nevins said Pelela told his supervisor at the restaurant that he was HIV-positive, which led to his dismissal less than three weeks after being hired.Pelela was required to present test results “showing that he was HIV negative as a condition of continued employment,” the lawsuit states. As a result of losing his job, Pelela suffered severe emotional distress, loss of wages and loss of other employee benefits, it adds.Monaghan referred comment to his lawyer, Andrew Hanley.“I’m sure we would have been vindicated in court, but this would have cost us an awful lot of money fighting this national organization,” Hanley said. “We’re a restaurant in Wrightsville Beach, and we can’t afford to fight this powerful gay and lesbian lobby. His is a small local business that’s never been sued for discrimination because it has never discriminated.”The bottom line for the restaurant, Hanley said, is this: “Any time someone poses a health risk, my client is going to do the right thing. They couldn’t say Mr. Pelela didn’t pose a health risk to fellow employees or customers.”New Hanover County health officials said Monday that HIV-positive individuals are not a threat in a restaurant setting.“We would say there’s no reason an HIV-positive person cannot work in a restaurant. HIV is not transmitted through food handling,” said Janet McCumbee, New Hanover County Health Department personal health services manager.“There are probably a lot of HIV-positive people working in restaurants. That is something you don’t have to reveal to your boss,” she said.Restaurant employees are not permitted to work if they have an infectious communicable disease such as hepatitis A or salmonella, McCumbee said.“There is no risk of transmission of HIV through the preparation of food, yet misconceptions remain about coming into contact with people who are HIV-positive posing some risk to others,” Nevins said. “There’s a 20-year track record.”Davis said Pelela has been HIV-positive “for a significant period of time” but is asymptomatic.“The most critical point to the agreement is the training and the education. We believe it is very important,” Davis said.After being fired, Pelela filed discrimination charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In August, the EEOC “found reasonable cause to believe that the violations of the statute occurred,” according to the lawsuit.Davis said Pelela presented his restaurant supervisors with literature from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that “food service workers known to be infected with HIV need not be restricted from work unless they have other infections or illnesses,” but he still was fired. Ken Little: 343-2389ken.little@starnewsonline.com
¶ 2/08/2006 05:10:00 AM
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