CONTACT: Larry Brinkin

(415) 252-2510

On July 26, 2001, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission unanimously approved Compliance Guidelines to Prohibit Weight and Height Discrimination in Employment, Housing and Public Accommodations. The Guidelines were created to help the Human Rights Commission enforce anti-discrimination protections on the basis of weight and height that were added to the City’s existing anti-discrimination ordinances by the Board of Supervisors in May of 2000. The Guidelines will serve to educate people about their rights and responsibilities and to assist people with questions about the new law’s practical applications.

Commission Chair Ghada Saliba-Malouf stated, "Individuals facing weight and height discrimination in San Francisco have had their needs unmet for too long. We thank the affected communities for lending their expertise to the development of these Guidelines. It is our hope that the Guidelines will serve as a model and encourage the enactment of similar protections in other jurisdictions."

San Francisco is the first jurisdiction in the U.S. to offer guidelines on how to prevent discrimination based on weight or height. The City of Santa Cruz, CA and the State of Michigan prohibit weight discrimination. The District of Columbia provides general protection against appearance discrimination.

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Human Rights Commission

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Highlights from the Guidelines include:

• The Commission’s intent that programs, services and facilities be accessible and functional for people of all weights and heights.
• Definitions of weight and height that encompass body proportions and an impression of a person’s size regardless of numerical measurements.
• Recommendations that continuing education and comprehensive diversity training include weight and height sensitivity training.
• An explanation, with examples, of how businesses should accommodate people of varying weights and heights.
• Prohibition of employment discrimination that includes hostile work environments and requires workplace modifications.
• Provisions on non-discrimination in the purchase or rental of housing.

Virginia Harmon, Interim Director of the Human Rights Commission, said, "Commission staff stand ready to assist individuals who wish to file a complaint of discrimination on the basis of weight or height. Through our investigation and mediation process we expect to have great success in providing remedies for people affected by this form of discrimination. "

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