There had been several cases since the 2008 financial crisis where individuals were obese or fat and fired for it. Typical responses to these events and that employers are discriminating base on weight. The good thing is that the debate on the legality of firing people because they are overweight or obese is somehow settled: it is illegal. And yet the cases regarding this type of discrimination ends up dismissed. Here are the reasons why.

Overweight is not always morbid obesity
Being fat or overweight does not mean you are morbidly obese, a condition considered to be a disability by the Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA. But even when morbid obesity is categorized as a disability it must also prove to be such as well. This means that the morbid obesity of an employed individual is a considerable hindrance to several physical activities such as walking, standing, sitting down and breathing.

Being fat is usually controllable
Gaining weight is a responsibility of any individual. That means losing weight is the same. It can then be said that gaining too much weight is a willful negligence on the part of the employee turning him or her into a liability and a financial burden for the company due to poor health and increasing insurance expenses. In other words, employees who are fat and fired are not always fired for being fat per se. They are fired because he or she is no longer as productive as to when the employees were healthier.

Employers never state fatness as the reason
It is quite difficult to prove that one was laid off due to being fat. No employer has stated such as a reason which means no discrimination based on physical appearance or weight was made. This means that the employee who thinks he or she was fired because of fatness has the burden of proving that it was indeed the case. This can prove to be difficult unless you have recorded instances where you were told that you are losing your job because you are becoming too fat for it. The reason can also be from the company policy regarding health and safety concerns. When your employer needs you to be fit for your job becoming unhealthy is enough reason to fire you.

Although filing a civil lawsuit base on discrimination when you are fired for being fat leads to a very difficult process it does not mean that the lawsuit always ends in dismissal. Several cases have been filed and won and employers were penalized for discrimination of fat people. You just have to be prepared for a long battle. Ask help from the office of Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or EEOC if you think that your employer fired you due to weight discrimination.

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