Grocery Store Says HIV-Positive Teen was Offered Another Job Before Dismissal

Quality Foods IGA, the Schofield, Wis.-based grocery store accused of firing 16-year-old Korrin Krause from her job as a grocery bagger because she has HIV, has said that the company offered Krause another position after learning of her health status, the Associated Press reports (Associated Press, 9/6). Krause recently filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission stating that she was fired from her job at the grocery store because she is HIV-positive (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/4). However, Bernard Enkro, owner of the store, said that he offered Krause another job as a clerical worker after he learned of her HIV status. Enkro said, "While we did not feel it appropriate to continue Ms. Krause in her original assignment in light of her situation, we did offer her a different assignment in the store. Our interest was in protecting her health, not removing her from the store." The remarks are the store's first public comments on the issue since the published reports of Krause's complaint (Associated Press, 9/6). Christopher Krimmer, Krause's attorney, "dispute[d]" Enkro's statement, saying, "If there was an offer, this is the first time we heard of it. ... Even if she had been offered another position, it would still be blatant discrimination because she was more than qualified to do the job she was hired to do." The EEOC is deciding whether to join the lawsuit, Krimmer added. Krause has taken another job at a retail clothing store, which offered the job to her after hearing of the Quality Foods incident (Kormanik, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9/6).