Todd Shuttleworth, 34; Lost Job Because of AIDS

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — After nearly three years in the spotlight after he was fired because he was an AIDS victim, Todd Shuttleworth had asked that his death not be publicized.

But on Friday, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel reported that Shuttleworth had died July 25 at San Francisco General Hospital. He was 34.

The newspaper--quoting a hospital spokesman and friends of Shuttleworth in Florida and San Francisco--said the former Fort Lauderdale county budget analyst had asked that his death not be announced.

They did not speculate on his reasons.

In October, 1984, Shuttleworth sued Broward County for firing him because he had acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

With the help of the American Civil Liberties Union, Shuttleworth brought a $15-million federal civil rights lawsuit against the county, saying that it had violated laws against job discrimination.

The case was settled out of court last December and he received $190,000 in back pay and medical benefits. Shuttleworth returned to work at a new position studying AIDS at the Broward County medical examiner’s office. But he became ill within a week and moved to San Francisco for treatment.

“He got everything he could have won had he gone to trial,” said Allan Terl, former chairman of the Broward chapter of the ACLU who represented Shuttleworth.

“His legacy is twofold. First, he set a precedent that AIDS-infected people have a right to keep their jobs. Secondly, hopefully, the public became educated about AIDS and how non-contagious it is in an employment setting,” Terl said.