Workplace Discrimination Against the Obese

Workplace discrimination against individuals who are overweight and obese is on the rise, despite the fact that more and more Americans fall into that category. The discrimination ranges from excluding obese employees from certain activities, paying them lower salaries and implementing policies that have the effect of excluding obese people. When combined with the stigma of being overweight and the social acceptability of openly airing biases against people who are fat, obese individuals often feel they have little recourse but to grin and bear it. But they don't have to do that.

Facts About Obesity in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) labels American society as "obesogenic," which means our lifestyles promote unhealthy eating and sedentary living. It is not surprising then that more than one-third of the population is considered obese. The CDC estimates that the direct and indirect cost of obesity (much of it in health care spending) is about $147 billion each year. Surprisingly, the more each of us weighs, the greater the amount of open bias is expressed against people who are overweight in all domains of life, in media, in schools and certainly in the workplace. Some research suggests that because being thin is becoming increasingly rarer, discrimination against the overweight is more accepted.
Obesity Discrimination in the Workplace

Discrimination against people who are obese is as common as that against minorities. Moreover being overweight has been proven to affect one's salary. Routinely, an obese person's experience includes being excluded from certain activities, passed over for promotion and being the butt of unrestrained joking. But part of the problem many obese people face is that it is difficult to prove that a worker is being discriminated against because of his weight. Moreover, overweight people, especially the women among them, pay a huge price in terms of their salary. They earn considerably less money than normal-weight individuals according to research, making discrimination against them clear-cut.

Wellness in the Workplace

Another factor making the plight of obese workers tough is that employers are stepping up efforts to reduce the cost of health care and increasing the incentives for employees to kick bad habits and get healthier. There is a business case to wellness programs in the workplace. The toll of lost days, restrictions on activities employees can perform and doctor visits add up. The cumulative effect, however, is that those workers who are significantly overweight are both demoralized and demonized and in a position of not being able to say so.

Workplace Policy Discrimination

Some companies have implemented policies whereby overweight employees have to pay more for their health insurance, because of the increased risk of greater spending obesity-related health care necessitates. The bottom line is that even well-meaning policy may cross the line and be discriminating against people who are overweight and intrude into their private lives.

Recourse

People who feel they've been discriminated against or made to work in a hostile environment because of their weight have a tough job ahead of them in proving their weight was at issue, as well as combating the mind-set that keeps weight bias firmly in place.

Some have attempted to gain protection under the Americans with Disabilities Act, claiming obesity was a disability. Few have succeeded with this argument because for many there was no proven physiological, no-fault cause of obesity. That means there aren't any federal laws that specifically prohibit this kind of discrimination.

In most workplaces, however, equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws prohibit specific types of employment discrimination, including on the basis of race, sex, age, gender, nationality and disability status. Only a handful of states, including California and Michigan, specifically include weight as a category of workplace discrimination. What really has to change is the culture and its response to obesity. Advocates for obese people say the best way to enjoy a fruitful career is to look for companies that do well with all types of diversity and work in a way to challenge the stereotypes and biases against them.

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DOES DISCRIMINATION STILL EXIST? OF COURSE IT DOES

DISCRIMINATION EXISTS If you don't believe that discrimination exists, here are some facts that prove my point. 

Race/national origin discrimination: As of July 2011, 13.9 Americans were unemployed. 6.3 million of them were unemployed over 27 weeks. While 8.3 percent of whites are unemployed, compare that to 15.9 percent of African Americans and 11.3 percent for Hispanics. The use of credit history to screen applicants, which is still a widespread practice, can have a disproportionate impact on minorities and women. While some states are making moves to limit discrimination against the unemployed and those with poor credit, we have a long way to go before these practices are eliminated.

The chance of an African American male born in 2001 of going to jail is 32%. Hispanic males have a 17% chance and white males have a 6% chance. With the extreme disparity in arrest and incarceration rates among the races, EEOC has acknowledged that using arrest and convictions to exclude people from employment may have a disparate impact on minorities. Yet most states still allow criminal records to be used to exclude otherwise qualified applicants, even if the crime had nothing to do with their ability or qualification to perform the particular job.

Sex discrimination: The wage gap between men and women still stands. Women earn about 77 cents for every dollar men earn. The numbers drop even lower for African American and Hispanic women. Bad attitudes about working mothers abound. Once women have three children or more,they are way less likely to make it back into the workplace. Judges who are supposed to apply the law on pregnancy discrimination describe these cases as "work-life balance" issues and toss them aside. No wonder women who expect they will be easily able to balance working and having kids are suffering from depression.

While there was an outcry about Jeremy Irons' comments to the effect that women don't mind being pawed at work, the sad fact that this attitude still persists in the public at large. I've seen way more blatant sexual harassment recently, and I think it's because harassers like to exploit women's fear of losing their jobs in bad economic times to their advantage. Sexual harassment is more about power than sex. A harasser is just like a rapist -- if they aren't stopped, their behavior will accelerate. So why is it getting even more difficult to bring and win sexual harassment cases in court?

Age discrimination: The people I see in my office to go over severance agreements tend, overwhelmingly, to be over 40. The recession is hitting boomers hard and fast. The EEOC reportsthat age discrimination complaints went from 19.6% of all charges filed in 1997 to 23.3% in 2010. My post on AOL Jobs, 9 Signs of Age Discrimination, had 239 comments, many of them with heartbreaking tales of jobs lost after years of dedicated service. It was emailed to friends and family members 1362 times - a sign that many of us know someone we think was an age discrimination victim.

Katherine Kores, District Director of the Memphis Division of EEOC, testified that she has noticed these trends in the age discrimination cases filed in her office:

• Denied entry level positions to older workers, claiming that older applicants were over-qualified (even when they had not previously worked in the field) or that the jobs were being saved for high school and college students;

• Failed to hire older workers because they assumed older applicants would not possess the requisite technological skills;

• Failed to hire older workers because they believed the older workers would not remain on the job for an extended period of time.

I see the same trends in my practice. We make assumptions about older workers that simply aren't true, and it's forcing them to gut their 410Ks, cash in their life insurance and sell or lose their homes. Their retirement safety net is gone.

How Can You Stand Up For Yourself?

Many people tell me, when I ask if they reported discrimination to Human Resources before they were fired, that they didn't want to "go there." Instead, they tip-toed around the issue and reported unfairness, favoritism, harassment or hostile environment. Then they wonder why they were retaliated against. The problem is, complaining about any of those things doesn't protect you from retaliation. Bullying isn't illegal in any state.

Harassment: If you think you're being singled out due to race, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, or any other protected status, and you haven't been fired, demoted, denied a job or promotion, or suspended without pay, the discrimination is considered harassment. You have to report it under the employer's harassment policy first and give them a chance to correct the situation before you can file with EEOC or sue. That's the Supreme Court's rule, not mine, so complain to them if you don't like it. (No, not really. They won't take your calls and the Secret Service frowns upon showing up and knocking on their doors.) Put your complaint in writing so HR can't deny it later. Call it "Formal Complaint of [Race, Age, Sex, etc.] Discrimination."

Retaliation: If you're retaliated against for making your discrimination complaint, then you're legally protected.

Termination: If you're handed a layoff or exit package, severance agreement or other document to sign when you're fired/let go/laid off, read it carefully. If you think you've been singled out due to your protected status, go talk to an employment lawyer in your state. You might have leverage to negotiate a better package. If you sign, you're probably giving up any discrimination claims you have.

Don't buy into the attitude that discrimination doesn't exist, that it's all in your head, that you shouldn't "go there." Discrimination is real. Don't be a victim. Stand up for yourself.

TYPES OF DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

Types of Discrimination That Exist at the Workplace

Discrimination in the workplace is an unfortunate reality for many workers. Whether it is based on hostility or ignorance of co-workers, or on the intransigence of outmoded infrastructure or company policies, discrimination can lead to various difficulties for its victims, ranging from unfairly low pay to fear of reprisals to discomfort in the presence of employers or co-workers who are prejudiced against them. 

Race

Racial discrimination occurs in the workplace whenever an employee is treated differently because of his race. This can include lower pay, denial of promotion, assignment to less desirable jobs, harassment or inappropriate humor. While some behaviors or policies are clearly discriminatory, acts, comments, or decisions that are more subtle are often more problematic. It is quite possible, and even common, for racially tinged acts and comments to be couched in good-natured banter or hidden in acts that seem perfectly acceptable. Sometimes people act in discriminatory ways without even being aware of it. Training in the problems of racism in the workplace can sometimes help to make employees more aware of its insidious effects. 

Sexual Orientation

Discrimination against individuals for their sexual orientation is common both in the workplace and out. It is particularly ironic that this should be such a problem in a workplace, since by definition a person's sex life should not be part of a workplace, unless they are working in a very unusual workplace. Until quite recently, it was perfectly legal and even acceptable to mock people for their sexual orientation. Laws and times have changed, but many people's attitudes have not, leading to a cultural gap between people of differing sexualities who are insisting, sometimes quite loudly, on their rights, and another population who believes that they are "wrong" or "sick" due to their personal lifestyle choices. 

Gender

Gender discrimination usually takes place against women, although it can occur against men as well. Women are frequently underestimated and under-appreciated in the workplace, and in particularly egregious cases of discrimination can be mocked, insulted, and even physically attacked and raped. Like racism, the more mild forms of sexism are not always evident, and may be camouflaged in the guise of humor. The role of women in the workplace has been revolutionized over the past half century. It will no doubt continue to change, and certain people will continue to resist that change. 

Age

Age discrimination is less well understood than many other forms of discrimination. Because some areas still have mandatory retirement ages, and because it is widely understood that everyone, at some point, will begin to slow down with age, discrimination against someone based on her age is not taken as seriously as it should be by many people. Education is still required to drive home the message that in the workplace a person should be judged based solely on her ability to do the job, and not on how many years she has been on the planet. 

By Jagg Xaxx, eHowContributor 

The Issue of Discrimination in the Workplace

Though our society has improved by leaps and bounds over discrimination regarding women, ethnic minorities, physically challenged individuals, and other people who have been prone to discrimination, it does unfortunately still exist in today's workplace. There are imbalances in the higher positions, the pay received for doing the same tasks, and other important gaps that still exist, based on nothing greater than discrimination. For example, in 2002, it was reported that the average female's salary was a mere 77 percent of what males were earning. With such statistics, it is impossible to deny that many forms of discrimination, including sexual discrimination, are still very present in today's workplace. There are many different ways that discrimination may show it's ugly head on the job. It can start as early as the hiring process, where one person is hired over another without justification of abilities or experience. It may also go so far as sexual harassment, where one person is not taken as seriously as another, and is seen only as a sex object. It can even impact the employment benefits received when hired for a position, such as the training received and the vacation time permitted. If discrimination is to be stopped, however, it cannot be ignored. Action must be taken against it. Successful efforts against discrimination often consist of the following: Document the events If you are a victim of discrimination, begin writing down the time, date, and description of the event as soon as it happens, just in case you need to take it to the company, or to the law later on. It will provide you with a written record of everything that has gone on. Make it as detailed as possible, including when it happened, the details surrounding the event, what was said, and if there were any witnesses. Keep the book safely at home - not at your place of work. Begin smallTo resolve a situation of discrimination, you don't necessarily need to storm off to your lawyer. It may be something that can be solved much more quickly and easily. Start at the lowest level you can, for example, to your direct supervisor, and explain your concerns to him or her. Provide specific examples of the discrimination when you can. Provide this communication in writing, and keep your own copy of the complaint. Ask to review a copy of the company's discrimination policy, and look into the company's methods of internally resolving discrimination issues. Get the law on your sideThough this should not be your first step, if you fail to see results within the company, you must recognize that there are many laws out there to protect you from discrimination, and it is your right to apply them. If the company does not resolve your situation, or did not take you as seriously as you see fit, take your complaint to a government agency. Do it as soon as you discover that the company will not be solving it themselves, because there is a deadline of 6 months in many states. You are not alone if you are experiencing discrimination at work. However, it is up to you to tell people about it, and have the company, or the law set things right.

Disability Discrimination Act

  

Most people take it for granted that they can go to the shops, get an education at school or college, and use a bank or library. But for the large numbers of people with disabilities, using services like these things can be very difficult, or even impossible, so Britain has taken action with some new guidelines. Since October 2004, disabled people in Britain should have better access to services such as shops. The Disability Discrimination Act is designed to give disabled people equal rights to use services and businesses. It means that service providers will have to make changes to allow people with disabilities to use their facilities. Some of the people specified in the Act are those who have difficulties with movement for example, people who use wheelchairs, or who have sight or hearing problems, and sufferers of mental illness. The law was originally passed in 1995, but has been rolled out in various stages. Ever since 1996, it has been unlawful to discriminate against somebody applying for a job because of their disability. But from October 2004, businesses and organisations are required to make reasonable physical adjustments to their premises to assist disabled users. The businesses and organisations affected include shops, banks, libraries, places of worship, restaurants, and schools. They may have to make changes like building ramps to replace stairs, widening door-ways, or having Braille signs or menus. However, public transport is currently exempted from the law. This has angered some disability groups, who say that public transport is very difficult to use. For the London Underground and rail companies the problem is that many stations were built decades ago, and would be very difficult to change. However, the government has said that all buses, trains and taxis should be accessible to wheelchair users in 13 years' time. Vocabulary take it for granted : to know or believe you can do something without thinking about it. Disabilities : health problems which affect someone's ability to do things that other people can Disabled : unable to do some things that other people can. to discriminate : to treat someone differently, usually in a bad way, because of their skin colour, sex, age, religion, ability etc. service providers : any organisation or business offering something to people (e.g. help, education, things to buy, information) specified: named, included passed: agreed by the government, became legal to suffer from: to be ill with, to have an illness rolled out : gradually established unlawful: illegal, against the law adjustments: changes places of worship : religious buildings like churches, temples, and mosques. Ramps: smooth slopes (which can be used instead of steps) Exempted: excluded from, not included in the law Angered : made someone angry Accessible : possible to access or use DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION ACT

BEYOND THE VEIL (VIDEO)

WATCH THE VIDEO AND TRY TO COMPLETE THE SENTENCES

After the US invasion of Afghanistan, the world had a first time look at   ________1____________

Women are encouraged  _________2__________  to _________3 _________, not only  ____________4_______________but also as a religious requirement   ________5________ All Mighty.

Are women wearing the veil in democratic societies like Canada oppressed or was it their freedom of choice?

She says it is a symbol of her   ________6_______  and that she is basically following what her  _____________7___________________.

When she wears the veil she can walk  around  ______8________she does not have ________9________ ,and she doesn't have to care about men  _______10______ at her   or  ________11_______ at her  or _____12______ comments .  When she gives speeches wearing this, it forces people to  _________13___________. People don't judge her __________14__________  ,  ______15______  or by the way she looks.

She says women are not forced  into _________16____________ they are not   ________17____________. It does not symbolize  __________18_________ The veil, on the contrary is   _________19___________.

Now, as her family cannot see her, it’s a great opportunity  ______20_____    and ________21________ She’s wearing it regardless  of _______22_______  of what is happening and   ______23_______________ people get.

People in the campus have learnt that weating this doesn’t mean she can’t do this or that. She wasn’t   _________24________ and they get to  ___________25__________ .

AFGHAN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ( VIDEO )

Sixty-year-old Ghoma is sitting in a classroom for the first time in her life. These women are ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­_______1_____ age, but that isn’t stopping them from learning how __________2____________.

Sherifa grew up in a home __________3_____________   didn’t believe  girls should have an education, but her husband doesn’t feel the same, _______4_________    she is now able to attend this class.

Because of our age, we cannot go to regular schools, that’s why we’re here. We came here so that __________5_________and get an education.

Women are slowly becoming more vocal in a culture _________6__________any real power, education, they believe, would give them just that.

I want to become a teacher ________7____________  teach other women. I’ll encourage other girls to study and have an education because it will play a beneficial role in our lives.

Thousands of women in this province have had to ________8________ themselves after losing their husbands during the wars. These are some of them. Maybe they aren’t lucky enough _________9_________ literacy classes, but at least, they are learning crafts.

Over one hundred women are benefiting from this local project making just enough money ________10_________   their sewing and embroidery.

It is a big _________11____________improving the lives of the women of Kandahar. Just a few years ago, they weren’t able to venture __________12____________ without a male escort. Today things have changed. They come to bazars and some are fighting back. This woman is one of them,  her predecessor was gunned down __________13___________ last year. Ronata Ree knows she could be next, but it is not the Taliban _________14___________, but a culture which ___________15______________ women. The Taliban is not the ________16___________, the biggest problem for women is Pashtun culture, which doesn’t believe in __________17____________. A generation of women may have never had the chance to change their lives for the better, and for those who are now trying, it may be ___________18____________ before conservative traditions are locked away.

DISCRIMINATION

• LESBIAN CUSTODY FIGHT LISTENING WITH SCRIPTS AND VOCABULARY
• TRANSGENDER TEENAGER SUES MACDONALD'S LISTENING WITH SCRIPTS AND VOCABULARY