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Laws, Rulings, Attorneys
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act
of 1964 declares that all persons within the United States have a
right to employment free from discrimination based on race, color,
religion, sex, or national origin. It has been used in weight
discrimination cases where weight standards are applied differently
to different protected classes (e.g. women and men), and where
weight standards have an adverse impact on a protected class.
The Rehabilitation Act of 1973
prohibits discrimination against an otherwise qualified individual
with handicaps, solely on the basis of that handicap, in any program
which receives federal assistance.
The Americans with Disabilities Act
of 1990 (ADA) extends the protection against discrimination on the
basis of disability to the private sector.
State of Michigan: Elliot Larsen
Civil Rights Act, Act 453 of 1976, Sec. 209, bans discrimination in
employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age sex,
height, weight, or marital status. (Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. 37.2102
(1985 & Supp. 1993).
Santa Cruz, CA (July 1992), defines
unlawful discrimination as "differential treatment as a result of
that person's race, color, creed, religion, national origin,
ancestry, disability, marital status, sex gender, sexual
orientation, height, weight, or physical characteristic".
District of Columbia, Human Rights
Law Subchapter II, Sec. 1-2512, outlaws discrimination in employment
based upon "race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age,
marital status, personal appearance, sexual orientation, family
responsibilities, physical handicap, matriculation, or political
affiliation". (D.C. Code Ann. 1-2501 (1987 & Supp. 1993).
San Francisco, CA (June, 2000)
passed a law specifically outlawing discrimination against people
based on their weight
Rulings against those charging
Many weight discrimination cases are
argued on the basis of disability discrimination or perceived
disability discrimination. Unfortunately, 98 percent of disability
discrimination lawsuits are decided in favor of the employer,
according to the American Bar Association [New York Times,
July 26, 2000]. There have been cases, however, in which the court
made it clear that they would have ruled for the plaintiff if it
had been argued as a disability case.
The Supreme Court of California
ruled in September 1993 against plaintiff Tony Cassista who sued
Community Foods for refusing to hire her because of her weight.
The Court said that if she had said she was disabled because of
her weight (which she said was not the case), she would have been
protected under California law. (Cassista v. Community Foods,
Inc., 856 P.2d 1143 (Cal. 1993)
Rulings in favor of those charging
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
ruled (November 22, 1993) for plaintiff Bonnie Cook, who sued a
Rhode Island home for the mentally disabled for refusing to rehire
her because of her weight, even though she had performed the job
satisfactorily in the past. The Equal Employment Opportunities
Commission filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the
plaintiff, saying that morbid obesity, even if voluntary, is a
protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(Cook v. State of Rhode Island Dept. of Mental Health, Retardation
and Hospitals, 783 F. Supp. 1599 (D.R.I. 1992))
The Rhode Island Court of Appeals
decided in favor of plaintiff Sharon L. Russell who sued Salve
Regina College for expelling her for not losing weight. The State
of Rhode Island appealed the case to the Supreme Court of the
United States, which, in 1990, returned the case to the Court of
Appeals for reconsideration as a simple contract dispute. The
Appeals Court again found in favor of Russell, who was awarded
lost tuition and other expenses. The decision was not based on the
question of the legality of weight discrimination. Russell v.
Salve Regina College.
A California jury ruled (November
9, 1990) in favor of plaintiff Jesse Mercado, who was fired by the Los Angeles Times for being too fat. The Times argued that Mercado's obesity was transitory or voluntary, but the
jury found that he was protected by the California Fair Employment
and Housing Act, which includes physical handicap and medical
condition as protected categories.
A Maryland Court ruled in
October, 1990 in favor of four plaintiffs (Dorothea Goodman,
Carlissa V. Hawkins, Jacqueline Wilson, and Betty Wright) who were
refused jobs as bus drivers by the Maryland State Transit
Authority for being over their height/weight limit. The Maryland
Human Relations Commission argued their case for eleven years in the courts, which finally ruled that the Transit Authority had
perceived them as handicapped whether or not they were, and that
they had been unfairly discriminated against. They were given the
opportunity to reapply for the jobs.
A New Jersey Administrative Law
Judge ruled in December, 1988 in favor of plaintiff Joseph Gimello,
who was fired by Agency Rent-a-Car for his weight, even though all
previous evaluations had been excellent. His case was argued on
the basis that he was physically disabled and therefore covered
under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination. He won back pay,
attorneys' fees, and $10,000 for pain and suffering. (Gimello v.
Agency Rent-A-Car Systems, Inc., 594 A.2d 264 (NJ Super. A.D.
The North Dakota State Personnel
Board ruled in early 1988 in favor of plaintiff Melvin Hansen, who
was fired as a weight inspector for the Highway Patrol because he
was too fat. The Board said: "This ruling underscores that state
employees cannot be fired because of obesity if [their weight]
does not interfere with job performance".
Finding An Attorney
For an attorney referral in your area,
visit the website of the American Bar Association, click on your
state, and then find your county, nearest city, or local area.
Referrals are made to lawyers who specialize in many areas,
including employment problems and civil rights issues. Referral
through the American Bar Association or your state or local Bar
Association entitles you to a half-hour initial consultation with an
attorney at no charge or for a nominal fee. After the half-hour, you
can decide if you want to hire the attorney to handle your case.
American Bar Association Attorney Referral Service
Attorneys in various parts of the United States that have experience
in weight discrimination include:
Fernandez & Lauby LLP
7700 Irvine Center Dr, Ste 800
Irvine, CA 92618
Web Site: Fernandez& Lauby
Kenneth I. Friedman, Esq.
Beck & Eldergill
447 Center St.
Manchester, CT 06040
James Goodman, Esq.
Injuries to Persons with
Disabilities Law Center
100 Peachtree St NW Ste 2100
Atlanta, GA 30303
Email: James Goodman, Esq.
Lynette Labinger, Esq.
Roney & Labinger
344 Wickenden Street
Providence, RI 02903
James Loots, Esq.
Law Offices of James M. Loots PC
236 Massachusetts Ave NE Suite 204
Washington, DC 20002
202-315-3515 - fax
202 359-0442 - mobile
email: James Loots, Esq.
Web Site: Loots Law
James J. Parks, Esq.
Gabrian and Parks, P. C.
2525 Telegraph, Suite 302
Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302
Employment Law Office
5160 Campus Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
Email: Frank Pray
Web Site: Employee Rights Atty
Sondra Solovay, Esq.
2625 Alcatraz Avenue PMB #261
Berkeley, CA 94705
Email: Sondra Solovay, Esq.
Web Site: Beyond Bias
Getting the Law Changed in Your Area
Some of the problems faced by people of size can be helped with laws that give them legal recourse in cases of patently unfair or inhumane treatment of the kind discussed on our website. It can be very difficult to get such laws passed, but some of the more successful changes have been made in laws that already require equal treatment for various disadvantaged groups, and to which "size" and/or "weight" is simply added as an additional protected class of people. This has been done in a few individual cities, but it is possible that it could be done for an entire state or even a sovereign nation.
For example, in the country of Iceland, which has been drafting a new constitution, such an effort has been made by Sigrun Danielsdottir, a licensed psychologist in Reykjavik, Iceland, and who is also the president of the Icelandic Association for Body Respect. In October, 2012, the association asked the group that is drafting the constitution, to add "weight" to the list of protected classes listed under the section on equality. The CSWD has decided to make a public statement, as follows:
"The Council on Size & Weight Discrimination (founded in 1991) supports the efforts to add wording to the new draft Constitution in Iceland that would prohibit discrimination based on the size and weight of its citizens. In the future, many groups may enjoy equal treatment under the law, and persons of size should be included. Sadly, discrimination against larger people is commonplace throughout the world. Iceland should set an example for other civilized nations."
Alternatives to Legal Action
Disclaimer: This page does not offer legal advice, for which you
should consult an attorney.
There are many circumstances
where legal action is not possible or where such action would
probably not be effective. Remember that weight discrimination is
still not illegal in forty-nine of the fifty United States. Michigan
is the one state with laws that include height and weight as
protected categories under anti-discrimination law. There are also
local ordinances making weight discrimination illegal in San
Francisco, Santa Cruz, and Washington D.C.
Even in cases where other laws (such as disability discrimination or
age discrimination) can be used, the trend is toward more
conservative policies, and court rulings in recent years have tended
to favor employers more than employees. Most attorneys will not take
cases of harassment or humiliation based on body weight. Even cases
of blatant weight discrimination (such as being fired because of
weight when you did the job perfectly well) can be difficult to
fight and win. Although we at the Council are working to change
things, for now the fact is that there are virtually no laws against
At the same time, there is more support than there has ever been for
people who are larger than average. A study by the NPD Group in
December, 2002 showed that Americans are "more accepting of
overweight people" than they have been in the past. Nearly 76
percent of people say it is "OK to be overweight." That is up from
45 percent in 1985.
There are several things you can do if you are a victim of weight
discrimination and either cannot take legal action or else decide
not to do so. Here are some alternatives to legal action, along with
stories from our files.
1. Get support from allies. These could be friends, co-workers,
family members, advisors, counselors, or health professionals. They
can help you work through your own issues, and they can also help
you fix the problem by standing with you, speaking out in your
defense, or simply by letting others know by their actions that they
2. It is often effective to write letters of complaint. If an agency
or company discriminates against you, do research to find out which
department handles complaints, and then write a letter to that
department. Include copies of documentation, including your notes of
conversations. Start a file and keep copies of everything you send
and everything you receive. If you are mistreated by a co-worker,
manager, or boss, you could write to that individual with a detailed
description of the events that took place. At the bottom of the
letter, note that you are sending a copy of this letter to the
person's superior and to any and all other interested parties.
(Warning: Please note that writing such a letter can be a
double-edged sword. If your boss or your company is likely to take
action against you or to fire you for writing a letter of complaint,
please do not take this action. Please carefully consider both the
benefits and the risks of any confrontation, whether spoken or
3. Media can be a powerful ally. Find out who does the consumer
complaints reporting for your local newspapers and television
stations, and get in touch with them. They are especially interested
in stories where someone is wronged by the system, or by unfair
policies, or by a person or company that mistreats the person
without good reason. The public, even though they are prejudiced
against heavy people in general, are often sympathetic to a real
person whose situation is explained to them and who becomes an
individual in their minds.
Charlie B., Rochester, NY, was unable to find medical care. He had a
condition that required a cat scan, and his local hospital's machine
was not large enough to accommodate him. He took his story to the
local newspaper, which ran a story about his struggles. As a result
of the story, several hospitals with larger equipment got in touch
and offered to handle his case. The hospitals got excellent
publicity, and Charlie got the health care he needed.
4. You may want to talk directly to the person or person who
discriminated against you. It is best not to do this in an angry or
confrontational manner, but rather in the spirit of problem-solving.
Assume that their actions came from lack of understanding, and that
your purpose is to educate them on the realities of the situation.
You may decide it is best to tell them how the discrimination made
you feel, or, in some circumstances, you may feel that the best way
is to be strictly level-headed and rational and explain why their
actions were not productive.
Case: Henry R., Minneapolis. At five feet, ten inches and two
hundred eighty-five pounds, Henry was the largest person in his
section at a computer company. His boss told him his weight was a
problem, since he didn't fit the youthful, healthy image his company
was trying to project. Henry had tried many times to lose weight,
but always gained it back. Finally his boss told him to lose weight
or else he would be in danger of disciplinary action. After
consulting with the Council, Henry decided to try to discuss the
situation honestly with his boss. He asked for a meeting, and came
armed with scientific and medical information on how difficult it is
to keep weight off. He also brought his own employment records,
showing that he had very little absenteeism, and showing his
excellent evaluations. He asked his boss to reconsider his
ultimatum, and pointed out that he was a valuable employee, and that
his weight had never interfered with his ability to do his job well.
Henry's boss said that he appreciated Henry's honesty and industry
in making this presentation, and decided to give Henry a second
chance. He told Henry to keep on trying to eat better and get more
exercise. He said he hoped Henry would lose some weight, but that he
would not fire him over it. Henry continues to work at the same
company, and has a better relationship with his boss.
5. You may decide to do nothing official, and that is a valid
choice. Sometimes, especially in employment situations, you would
jeopardize your job or your relations with those around you if you
confronted the person or persons who discriminated against you. If
you decide not to take action, consider talking the whole thing over
with someone you trust. It is often helpful to talk it through with
a friend or counselor so that it doesn't stay bottled up inside you.
Case: John P., Los Angeles. John worked in a busy newsroom, and
although he was very heavy, he managed to do all the work necessary,
including a lot of walking. The problem was that a few of his
co-workers, and even one manager, constantly made fun of him,
calling him names, making pig noises behind his back, and even
squeezing his large arms and poking his belly. John asked the
Council for help, and consulted a lawyer. Unfortunately, both the
lawyer and the Council's legal consultants felt that John would not
win if he were to press a lawsuit, since the situation was one of
bullying, and since there are currently no laws in California
(except in San Francisco) that prohibit weight discrimination. John
further felt that confronting the people who were harassing him
would not help, and might make it worse or even get him fired. He
decided to take no action, but just to act friendly towards all his
co-workers. He also decided to talk to a counselor and work through
his issues within himself. The Council referred him to several
mental health professionals in the area who were size-friendly and
would understand that his problem stemmed from being bullied, not
from being heavy.