Legal Resources
One of the best available resources on legal issues related to weight and size discrimination is a book called Tipping the Scales of Justice by Sondra Solovay, J.D. An attorney who focuses on weight-related cases, Sondra discusses court attitudes toward weight in relation to employment and discrimination law, child/family law, disability law, civil rights, minorities, public policy, diets and exercise, and much more.
Largesse has a list of Weight Discrimination and Legal Resources for People of Size that includes the names of attorneys experienced with weight discrimination cases.
The Obesity Law and Advocacy Center has a rather unfortunate name, and some of the cases they specialize in are pretty reprehensible. They'll represent you if you're fighting with your insurance company because they've denied your claim for weight-loss drugs or surgery (one of the few times when managed care's tight-fisted practices actually work in people's best interests!) But they also claim to have expertise that may be useful in cases of employment discrimination and wrongful termination based on size, and personal injury claims, complaints of denial of access to public facilities, and other litigation where weight is a factor. They're based in San Diego, but they can assist with cases in other jurisdictions.
Persons With Disabilities Law Center Being fat isn't, in and of itself, a disability. However, laws protecting people with disabilities may be a fat person's only recourse against discrimination based on size (which isn't specifically prohibited in any state except Michigan). The Americans with Disabilities Act has been interpreted as protecting people who are "morbidly obese" (generally, more than 100% over what the insurance chart says you should weigh). It also protects someone who is perceived to have a disability--so if they won't hire you because they think you're too fat to physically perform the job, and they're wrong, you may have a case. These folks can tell you more.
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