Cassie Smith is beautiful – the 20-year-old has long blond hair, striking dark eyes, and a svelte 132 lb., 5’8” frame. Well, svelte to most of us, who look at her and see the picture of good health. Why then was this former Hooter’s server put on involuntary weight probation and eventually had to leave her job? Because she could not fit into the trademark tank and tiny orange shorts available in sizes small, extra small, and extra extra small.
Although Cassie likely never thought she would be suing an employer based on weight bias, sge, and her fellow Hooter’s server Leanne Convery -- the mother of a young child that was put on weight probation at 115 lbs.-- are fighting back. The pair are suing Hooters, stating that Hooters violated Michigan’s Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights act, which bars employers from discriminating on the basis of factors such as religion, color, age height or weight. Michigan is one of the few states that has protections for weight-related discrimination.
Cassie and Leanne’s stories are not unusual. The Employment Law Alliance (ELA), recently looked at appearance-based discrimination. They found that litigation related to appearance and weight discrimination is on the rise. Closer to home, the Borgata Casino in Atlantic City was sued because of policies requiring cocktail waitresses to have mandatory weigh-ins with suspensions for any weight increase over 7 percent.
According to another ELA poll, 16% of respondents said that they had been the victim of appearance-based discrimination, 38% of those said the discrimination was based on their overall appearance; 31% said it was their weight. Despite these statistics, roughly half the nation’s employers have no policies or regulations that address appearance discrimination.
Douglas Bunnell, PhD, Director of Non-Residential Clinical Services for The Renfrew Centers, says that appearance and weight discrimination is a serious issue that has lasting impact. “The stigma associated with obesity is profound and pervasive. It is observable in children as young as five or six years old. By that age, virtually all of us have internalized the notion that being fat is unacceptable.” Bunnell says. “Because of this embedded stigma, we make negative inferences about people who are overweight and judgments about their intelligence, discipline, desirability, character, and health. This wave of negative evaluation is relentless and, unfortunately, rarely appreciated. These judgments have real implications for people's quality of life, from employment options to access to healthcare and far beyond."
The Renfrew Center has residential and outpatient programs in Philadelphia, Pa. and Radnor, Pa.
Comments
FYI - Leanne's "baby" is 5 years old now and she was fired last year.
Thanks, reader, for clarifying this. It's heartening to know that Leanne was able to reach a very healthy 115 pounds after having a child, no matter what the interval. I hope that Hooters is able to appreciate that a post-baby body is beautiful. I also hope that if you work for Hooters or are affiliated with it you are being treated with respect. Thanks again.
Dr. Doug, let's go to Hooters again for some wings and beer!!!!
Everyone knows that Hooters highers girls that are in tip to shape an look good. And by everyone i mean EVERYONE! What does she expect? The Hooters girls are what makes the restaurant what it is. It's not like she's working at walmart and got fired for being overweight. She knew what kind of girls they are looking for and if she didn't want to keep that image that the job requires then she should find a job at one of the other millions of restaurants in America. It's no different than if a pro athlete would suddenly stop exercising and got out of shape. you think they would keep their job? The answer would be no. They knew when they got into the job that they would be required to be in good shape just like this girl did.
Thanks for sharing your perspective. I think she looks beautiful though, not out of shape.
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