Fired for being obese

by Rebecca Puhl

Last week I read a story about a NY teacher who was fired because he was obese. At 6’4” and 325 pounds, the teacher had a body mass index of 39.6 (a BMI over 30 classifies as obese).  This man received very positive reviews for his teaching from his supervisors, including lesson plans that were described as “well planned” and “well executed” by the superintendent for curriculum. However, when he was being evaluated for tenure, the superintendent also reported that he was “so big and sloppy” that his “obesity was not conducive to learning”, and he was subsequently fired...

His lawyer stated that obesity is a medical condition protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission agreed that there was reasonable cause to believe that he had been discriminated against because of his weight.

Clearly this teacher was an undeserving victim of discrimination. But, does it make sense to fight obesity discrimination cases with a “disability defense”? Does this create further stigma about obesity? And, what kind of message does this case communicate to students, other than the message that a perfectly good teacher is no longer of value if he or she is obese? Now, more than ever before, stigma and discrimination are prevalent in our society, and we must find ways to combat weight prejudice. Unfortunately, this story is an example of how to teach discrimination, rather than teaching tolerance.

Comments

[Risotta]

I am extremely wary of treating obesity as a medical condition. From what I've been reading, many states, (including New York) have no official legal protection against weight discrimination, so lawyers "have nothing else" to go on. Not sure how true this is (I'm not a lawyer or an expert in law), but I'd be much more relieved to see new precedent set, as opposed to jumping on some disability bandwagon.

And you're absolutely right; the lesson to the children is deplorable.

[bishophicks]

In this particular case, they shouldn't argue the disability angle. They should argue the plain and simple discrimination angle. They fired a qualified, well regarded employee because they didn't like the looks of him. It's not okay to do this if their black, or female, or too tall, and it shouldn't be okay to do this because the person is fat.

Now if the teacher's weight was affecting his performance, that is a different story. But according to the original post, that's not what is happening here.

[Jacqui]

bishophicks - Actually, firing someone for being black or female is very different than firing someone for being tall or, in this case, obese. Race and gender are government-protected classes where it is illegal to discrminate against (as is disability) whereas mere "looks" are not illegal to discriminate against at all. Especially in an "at will" state, you can fire someone for anything as long as they are not in a protected class and UNLESS he argues disability, he is not in a protected class.

[Peter]

As a business owner, I'm intrigued by this story. I own a business in an at-will state, and I can't imagine that we would fire someone for just being obese. However, we do screen heavily for personality components that might indicate low self-control, emotional problems and other emotional work 'negatives'. A depressive, sick, negative employee is not a good employee, and we would prefer not to hire someone who fits that description.

What I'm intrigued by is whether or not we tend to subconsciously correlate emotionally negative states with obesity in interviews, and if we do, whether it's appropriate or not. Any thoughts from others? Interpreting 'appropriate' as: 'morally right' or 'statistically significant corellations' both lead to conversations I'm interested in. More on my blog on this in a day or so..

[bluebela]

The post by Mister Joshua is a strong example of the enormous bias against overweight people that is rampant in our society!!! Why is an overweight teacher a "bad role model"??? He seems to imply that an overweight person has no "self-respect and responsibility" and that students being exposed to overweight teachers will somehow mar them.

[Anahit]

NY may be an at-will state and obesity invariably isn't a protected class like race, religion, etc., but that doesn't mean a public school district can just fire someone for being fat.

A public school teacher is almost certainly a union member who has a collective bargaining agreement covering when a teacher may be fired. Usually the language involves "good cause". There may also be statutes in NY and/or that municipality to cover termination grounds for public employees.

Plus the teacher has constitutional protections that private workers don't get.

Suffice to say he is not an "at-will" employee in practice. If he truly was fired for simply being overweight, I wouldn't want to be a taxpayer in that district because it's run by morons.

[mstbarnes]

Mister Joshua, it is due to inappropriate US Government standards, in addition to societal standards regarding weight and size, that so many beautiful young girls--and, increasingly, men--suffer from anorexia, bulimia, and/or some type of body dysmorphia. The problems
young people face regarding weight, size, self-image, and self-esteem come from people like you who want to dictate; rather than teach tolerance and acceptance.

Research has shown that in societies that have a broader sense of "beauty" than America (for example, Europe and Australia) both sexes, especially women, are much healthier and happier. They have a much lower incidence of physical and psychological problems associated with weight and body image.
You should be ashamed to even suggest more controls and messages to young people that can have serious health consequences (psychologically and physically). The people should be sent lessons of tolerance and concern for a fellow person. Perhaps the school or the system should have started a get healthy/stay healthy program to relieve the stress associated with
teaching - nutrition and exercise. Ever heard of cortisol, Mister Joshua? It is a chemical in the body that causes significant weight gain to people experiencing stress. Ever teach, Mister Joshua? You state that teachers should be role models - well, my dear man, so should parents, administrators, strangers, any one a child may come into contact with should role model kindness, empathy, and understanding.

Furthermore, good, caring, dedicated teachers are too damn hard to find. Children do not care about how you look. They only care that you are interested in them and their learning. But I suppose you would want your children taught by a runway model, because she looks good and vanity should be taught all young people - that is definitely more important than opening and expending a child mind to all the wonders and possibilities that the world has to offer.

[gramophone]

The concept of "tolerance" in the case of obesity is utterly ridiculous. We don't tolerate people who smoke in public, nor do we tolerate people who abuse drugs and alcohol to a dangerous degree. Conversely, it's considered unkind to comment negatively on someone that chooses to be morbidly obese. Tolerance, in this case, amounts to little more than a selective allowance of vice.

As for the trite "standards of beauty" argument, a minute percentage of the population that suffers from an eating disorder is not sufficient to serve as some sort of moral or cultural ballast in a nation of rampant obesity. Such an argument completely negates any personal responsibility on the part of the overweight individual and rests the blame of cultural stigma on the shoulders of people that simply aren't interested in accepting someone dangerously overweight as an object of beauty.

If this blog purports to be concerned with the health of the critically overweight, it's certainly doing them a disservice by attempting to make their errant choices a component of an acceptable lifestyle.

[Al Shazim Ka]

Fat people should be fired from their jobs to motivate them to lose weight. Maybe all that poverty will thin them down.