‘You’re too fat to work here’
February 5, 2009 by Shane BorerPosted in: Discrimination, In this week's e-newsletter, Insurance, Latest news & views
After nine employees were given time to trim down but failed to do so, they were terminated from their positions. Are they victims of weight discrimination?
Air India, employer of the nine flight attendants, insists it has the right to fire cabin staff it considers physically unfit. Although details were not given about the specific weight of the employees, all were described as “significantly overweight,” based on height, age and gender.
The company has fought for years for the right to terminate its unfit workforce. In 2006, it warned 1,600 cabin crew employees that they’d need to get in better shape within two months — or risk being placed in lesser-paying ground duties.
Last year, an Indian court found in favor of the airline, which lead to the firings earlier this week.
Air India claims fitness and efficiency are the reasons for its weight standards, and that although all nine of the cabin crew terminated were women, there is no gender bias.
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Tags: Air India, Overweight, Unfit employees, Weight discrimination
February 6th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
How horribly humiliating for those involved. Absolutely this is discriminatory when a few are singled out for no good reason other than the company wants it so! What a disgrace! Pretty soon they will terminate people if their cholesterol is too high, when they get to monitor people really closely. etc. How about focusing on the job performed as long as they are well groomed and not offensive.
February 6th, 2009 at 5:43 pm
I don’t believe we should discriminate for any reason – weight, race, color, religion, etc. I agree with Linda to the extent that they should focus on the job performed. I do however believe that certain fields can and should require their employees to be fit, such as the military or police force, in order for the employees to be able to carry out all the required duties. Maybe the airline should come up with a test that encompasses the duties that need to be performed and as long as you can pass it, you’re fine. The military/police requires you to pass a physical fitness test for a reason and I can understand why cabin staff would need to be fit in certain cases as well.
February 8th, 2009 at 7:34 pm
I believe that their terminations were within the legal rights of the airline. The isles are so small and I have flown so many times that there were were big flight attendants on the plane. They bump me, hit me and run into me everytime they pass me by. In a case such as this when weight is an issue, I believe they should beable to discriminate. The same should go for police officers, how can they run after a criminal if they are overweight? There are some jobs that need to be looked at very carefully.
February 11th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Way to go Air India. I think more companies should take this approach. This is not discrimination. How is an overweight person going to work on an airline. A thin person has enough of a problem walking the aisles. Obesity has been one factor in the increase of medical care and insurance. In this type of circumstance, being overweight is unacceptable. This also goes for fire fighters and police officers. How in the world would an overweight police officer chase down a criminal.
February 13th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
I believe this decision was a bit harsh. Discriminating against someone because of their size shows how vain this society has become. A child is raised to believe that he/she could grow up to become “anything they choose to be”. This phrase does not include “unless you are fat”. To become a peace officer or a firefighter requires extreme training and physical fitness exams. If you cannot complete these requirements, you should not be able to join this field; however, if you are capable of completing the training and fitness exams, your size should not be a factor.
I believe that body builders are considered overweight compared to the “average weight expectations” even though the individual is in a better physical condition than the majority of the population. Should these individuals be denied the choice of working as an attendant as well?