Lambda Legal Reaches Settlement Agreement with Restaurant That Fired Man Because He Has HIV

(Wilmington, NC, February 6, 2006) — Lambda Legal facilitated a settlement agreement in a case in which a man with HIV, was fired from his job as a cook for a small restaurant because of his HIV status.

Aron Pelela worked as a cook at Mike and Katy’s Causeway Café in Wrightsville Beach, NC. The restaurant fired him after learning that Pelela has HIV In October of 2005, with the help of Lambda Legal, attorney Joyce L. Davis filed a lawsuit on Pelela's behalf against the restaraunt under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which protects people from being discriminated against based on their disabilities, as well as North Carolina law. Lambda Legal joined as co-counsel in January, and the parties subsequently agreed to settle the matter. Under the agreement, the restaurant will institute a policy ensuring that the restaurant does not discriminate against people with HIV, conduct trainings to educate all employees about the transmission of HIV, and pay Pelela an undisclosed monetary settlement.

“There is no risk of transmission of HIV through the preparation of food, yet myths about transmission are clearly still running rampant,” said Greg Nevins, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Southern Regional Office in Atlanta. “We are happy to see the owners of this restaurant instituting a policy based on the facts and training their employees on the truth about HIV transmission.”

In a similar case, Lambda Legal represents Robert Hickman, who was hired by Donna Curry as a store manager and began work at the Subway restaurants owned by Curry’s company, Donna Curry Investments, in Henderson and Las Vegas, NV. Hickman earned a merit increase in his salary shortly after being hired and was reassigned to manage a store in Las Vegas. After assuming his new role, sales at the store reached record levels. Despite praise and recognition of Mr. Hickman’s good work as a store manager, Ms. Curry terminated him one day after she learned that he has HIV. The case is called Hickman v. Donna Curry Investments, LLC, Doctor’s Associates, Inc., et al. and was filed on February 2, 2006 in federal court in Las Vegas.

The case is Pelela v. Mike and Katy’s Causeway Café.

Lambda Legal worked on this case with Joyce L. Davis of Joyce L. Davis & Associates in Raleigh, NC and attorney Virginia R. Hager of Wilmington, NC.