The Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City obsessively monitored the weight of its waitresses, according to 22 of them who sued it in 2008. They would be suspended, for example, if they gained 7 percent more weight than they had when they were hired. But a New Jersey judge threw out the suit, explaining that state law was silent about weight discrimination. The state Supreme Court affirmed the decision three years ago.
A hospital in Victoria, Tex., made headlines in 2012 after it imposed a strict body mass index (BMI) limit on employees — 35, in the obese range, was the cutoff — citing patients’ expectations of what a health-care provider should look like. It was entirely legal.
Academic research shows that weight-based stigma, prejudice and outright discrimination are rampant. One review of studies found that 19 percent of adults with “Class I” obesity (a BMI of 30 to 35) reported experiencing treatment they viewed as unfair, in various settings. The figure rose to 42 percent for people who were more obese. At each level of obesity, women reported more discrimination than men.
