Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Files Suit on Behalf of Fired HIV-Positive Teen

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a federal lawsuit last Thursday on behalf of Korrin Krause, a 16-year old Wisconsin girl who was reportedly fired from her job at a grocery store because she has HIV, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. The EEOC suit contends that Quality Foods IGA, a grocery store in Schofield, Wis., "may have violated" the Americans with Disabilities Act when it allegedly fired Krause from her job as a grocery bagger because of her HIV status.

The suit states that Krause was fired from her job on Feb. 5 after Quality Foods management learned she was HIV-positive. The EEOC said that at the time of Krause's dismissal, the store manager told Krause's mother that the teen was being fired because "her HIV posed a danger to store customers and other employees" and that keeping her employed was "bad for business." Although store owner Bernard Enkro could not be reached for comment by the Journal Sentinel, Quality Foods attorney Thomas Crone maintains his claim that Krause was not fired but instead reassigned to another job as a clerical worker after Enkro learned of her HIV status.

The EEOC suit seeks an injunction prohibiting Quality Foods from "refusing to hire qualified people with disabilities" and is also asking for compensatory damages for Krause's "inconvenience, humiliation and pay" she would have earned had she continued to work at the store. The suit also seeks compensatory and punitive damages from the store for "reckless conduct."

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