EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION
HISTORY/EXISTING CONDITION:
Discrimination in employment due to body size is rampant throughout the United States, as evidenced by documentation of numerous cases and successful litigation on file at NAAFA, Inc. Such discrimination has also been substantiated by employment surveys conducted by independent researchers. Fat people are not hired as often as those of average size, are not promoted as often, are paid less than their thinner counterparts, may be charged more for employee insurance coverage, and are sometimes fired because of their weight. Higher insurance costs, increased health risk, client or customer size biases, job performance, grooming, and employers' aesthetic preferences are reasons cited for firing or for refusing to hire or promote qualified fat workers. Discrimination against fat people may be direct and overt, unspoken and covert, or even subconscious. Currently the primary legal protection available to fat people in most states is to use existing disability laws and declare obesity to be a "perceived" disability by employers.
NAAFA'S OFFICIAL POSITION:
The National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance demands that fat individuals have equal access to employment. Firing, hiring, and promotional decisions should be based upon an applicant's or employee's qualifications, competence, and abilities.
NAAFA ADVOCATES:
- The introduction, passage, enactment, and enforcement of local,
state, and federal legislation which adds "height and weight"
to the categories protected under statutory laws on equal employment opportunities.
- That all employers, both public and private, hire and promote without
prejudice towards size differences.
- That employers provide adequate space, equipment, and furniture
to allow persons of size to comfortably and safely perform all jobs for
which they are qualified.
- That employers substitute performance tests for height and weight
restrictions when hiring, promoting, or retaining employees.
- That existing affirmative action programs include "height and
weight" as a factor to be considered when promoting diversity among
employees.
- That attorneys, career counselors, and employment agencies, both
public and private, actively assist fat people in fighting for equal access
in employment.
- That fat job seekers assert their rights to equal employment opportunities and publicly protest any discriminatory policies, actions, or attitudes they encounter while seeking employment.
NAAFA RESOLVES TO:
- Educate the public, the media, employers, career counselors, and
employment agencies as to the problems of size discrimination in employment.
- Provide advice and emotional support to individuals facing overt
or covert size discrimination in employment.
- Supply information about job hunting, especially as it relates to
fat job seekers.
- Assist plaintiffs and/or their attorneys engaged in litigation involving size discrimination in employment by providing them with referrals to expert witnesses who might testify on their behalf.
Last Revised: 8/9/91
First Issued: 8/9/91
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