Research Shows Weight Discrimination is Prevalent

Employment discrimination may occur in a variety of settings. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits many types of discrimination including discrimination based on race, color, sex, national origin and religion. This means that employers are prohibited from making employment decisions such as hiring, firing, promoting based on these categories. In fact, Title VII makes it illegal to consider these “protected” categories when making any employment decisions. Additionally, Congress has also passed the Americans with Disabilities Act/Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADA/ADAAA) making it illegal to discriminate against individuals with disabilities and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) prohibiting age-based discrimination.

If you have questions about employment discrimination, or believe that you may have been discriminated against, consulting with an experienced Atlanta employment discrimination attorney is important to determine your rights.

Recently, law makers have been discussing whether protections should be adopted for “weight discrimination.”

According to a recent report in the Washington Post, obese people are often discriminated against in the workplace and have difficultly getting “equal treatment.”

The study looked at the correlation between weight and the types of job people are likely to hold. Research concluded that women are increasingly less likely to work higher paying jobs and more likely to work lower paying jobs as they become heavier. However, a similar effect wasn’t seen on men. The author’s study points to research that shows a “woman’s appearance is more important on the job than a man’s” as one explanation. She also adds this particular gender pay gap may be an extension of the more general pay gap that persists between men and women in the United States.

The author plans to use this research in support of arguing for a sixth protected category under Title VII.

For more information, or if you or a loved one has faced any type of workplace discrimination, please contact the top Atlanta employment discrimination lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.