Here's another one.


Fat Man Sues McDonald's Over Non-Hire
Thu Apr 17, 2:01 PM ET  

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. - A federal judge has refused to dismiss a lawsuit against McDonald's, filed by a New Haven man who claims he was not hired because he is overweight.

Joseph Connor had filed the lawsuit last year against the fast food chain, claiming that it discriminated against him, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Connecticut Fair Employment Practices Act.

Connor, who weighs 420 pounds, claims that McDonald's violated the laws when it regarded him as morbidly obese and refused to hire him based on that perception.

Further, he alleges that his obesity is a disability, and the restaurant chain violated the CFEPA by deliberately not hiring him.

U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill concluded that Connor must be given the opportunity to prove that he is protected under the law.

McDonald's had argued that obesity, except in special cases where the obesity is due to a physiological disorder, is not a "physical impairment" within the meaning of the ADA.

"The judge' decision is a very important one," Attorney Gary Phelan, who is representing Connor, said Wednesday. "This is the first time a Connecticut court is saying that obesity may be a disability under state discrimination law."

Attorney Lawrence Peikes, who is representing McDonald's Corp., said the judges decision was not on the merits of the case.

"It in no way indicates how the judge views the case factually," Peikes said. "McDonald's is confident there is no merit to the claims and looks forward to having the matter resolved."



What do you think?


Cat

Did they actually say that's why they didn't hire him?

I hire a few hundred people a year, I never tell the the thousand or so who don't get hired the reason for it.  If McDonalds did they need to train that manager or HR person to keep their mouth shut.

Garbage, Garbage, Garbage.   ::) ::) ::)  That'a what I think.  This world is getting SO stupid

Maybe if he loses this one he can sue McDonalds for making him that way in the first place with their high fat high carb food.

I'm really tired of these types of lawsuits, to be honest with you.We all get rejected for jobs, life goes on !

I echo an above post, did the interviewer actually say "Can't hire ya, too fat" ?Well, that was poor judgement if the interviewer did say that to the guy.I basically feel that companies ought to be able to hire whomever they want without government getting involved.Life is not always fair, but I'd hate to see business owners being sued for every rejection they give.

People are passed over for employment all the time, for a myriad of reasons. I'm sure there are overweight people who aren't hired because they are overweight. But when you get down to it, it's the employer's right to hire or not hire for whatever reason they choose.

This may not be true but I believe it and so I'm going to post it here because I know there are other people who believe it.
The sad thing about the "Americans With Disabilities Act" is that it actually makes it harder for "Americans With Disabilities" to get a job.
Why?
Because if you hire someone with a disability you're not going to be able to fire them whether they can do the job or not.

Why?
Because if you try to fire them they'll get a lawyer and say you're trying to fire them because they have a disability.
If any of you folks out there are running businesses where you employ people, or are the head of human resources and it's part of your job to hire and fire people, don't tell me that this "Americans With Disabilities Act" hasn't made you have to change the way you hire and fire people.

As HR, it's best to remain mum.  The ol' "this isn't working out" is the best.  Have the settlement figured and the check in hand.  Best to wait until late Friday afternoon.  Of course always have everything documneted you can to back up the termination if it does go to arbitration or a lawyer.

Sounds like someone violated the big PC rule! A fatal error in this law suit happy day and age. I would hire the guy and make him work for that pay.