Workplace Obesity Hiring Ban

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  • Craig772
    Craig772 Posts: 100 Member
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    "Cutmd" good point about perception of obese people. I read somewhere a while back that most people perceive slimmer people to be more productive than obese people. But in the main it is just perception.
  • Loseittoo
    Loseittoo Posts: 74 Member
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    I have no issues with it. After being super morbidly obese I can tell you its a choice. Its a choice to not eat right, its a choice to not exercise. Its a choice that costs all of us in higher medical premiums.

    Its not a popular view but we have a obesity epidemic in this country. Something must be done.
  • anotheryearolder
    anotheryearolder Posts: 385 Member
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    I saw this one coming. The health care bill just isn't going to fly without trimming out a lot of people and conditions. The old and overweight will be among the first; many more will follow I fear. Can't do anything about my age but I can get thinner and more fit. Actually, the bill was what got me off my butt, into the gym, and on here.
  • LilynEdensmom
    LilynEdensmom Posts: 612 Member
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    My big issue with this, other than the obvious, I'm obese (which did stun me when I found out) and honestly I can work just as hard as the "skinny" girls at work and at my job my weight does not effect any of my job ability (except for fitting into the playland tubes after kids who get stuck lol)...but if companies won't hire obese individuals, will they not, especially the ones with families to support just end up being supported by the state and tax payers?

    **and I'm not even going to go into how this is or could be perceived as more freedoms being taken over by the government.
  • Nina74
    Nina74 Posts: 470 Member
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    In the medical community they are working on that obesity is NOT in your mind, but genetic, in most cases.

    Of course they can make all sorts of reasons why not to hire someone.

    If they do eventually find it is genetic, there are laws against genetic diseases:

    Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act.
    The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) can be found at 42 U.S.C. § 200 and following. This 2008 law prohibits employers from using an applicant's or employee's genetic information as the basis for employment decisions and requires employers to keep genetic information confidential.

    GINA also prohibits employers from requiring or asking employees to provide genetic information. The law includes exceptions for information the employer learns inadvertently, information gathered pursuant to the certification requirements of the Family and Medical Leave Act, and information used for genetic monitoring, among other things. Even if one of these exceptions applies, however, the employer must keep the information confidential and may not use it when making employment decisions.

    GINA applies to:

    private employers with at least 15 employees
    the federal government
    state governments
    private and public employment agencies
    labor organizations, and
    joint labor-management committees.
  • dmossett
    dmossett Posts: 24
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    *cringing* I work for a health insurance company and have for 14 years. I am not going to touch on the HealthCare Reform bill (I don't feel warm and fuzzy about it and could spend countless hours complaining about it).

    However, I wanted to point something out that has been in existance since the inception of health insurance. If any of you have insurance outside an employer (e.g. self-employed, individual coverage), or work for an employer with fewer than 51 employees, your insurance premiums are already being based on the medical history of yourself and your colleagues. In other words, the rates are set for a particular geographic location (based on cost of healthcare in that area) for an ideal applicant (not overweight, doesn't smoke, etc). However, if you are a smoker, or are overweight, or have certain medical conditions, you are automatically upcharged, and in most instances that upcharge is around 50%.

    What's becoming more common place is now larger employers are starting to put in place a similar system to upcharge employees if they smoke, or are overweight. While I can understand their rationale for doing this, it kind of defeats the purpose if your spouse or child (up to age 26 in most cases) that you insure on your policy smokes or is overweight? The employers haven't developed a process for upcharging them, but I am sure that is in the works too.
  • SandraMay1982
    SandraMay1982 Posts: 328
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    Damn. and this is where I say. THANK GOD I live in Australia. It scares me hearing how people in the US go untreated for health problems purely because they can't afford it.

    My friend here said that she couldn't afford to go to the doctor and she hadn't been in 5 years or something. She got a throat infection and didn't want to pay the $60 it would have cost to fix(doctors and antibiotics). We even have medicare where almost everyone gets part of the money they pay to the doctors back!
  • SandraMay1982
    SandraMay1982 Posts: 328
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    oooh. and I should add that we have things like "work choices" where employers have to give a reason for dismissal. everyone gets a 3 - 6 month probation, where if either employer or employee are unhappy with the work they can walk away with no problems in that 3 - 6 month probation. and that's a national thing.

    I just find discrimination against anyone just. ugh. Imagine things like depression and the like will rise, the overweight people who aren't strong of mind, or can't fix it will be in a never ending spiral.

    I really don't like it.
  • Sweet13_Princess
    Sweet13_Princess Posts: 1,207 Member
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    I thought employers weren't allowed to ban hiring certain types of people because it is considered discrimination???

    Shannon
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
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    Honestly, this feels like a red herring issue. Yes, people are going to get all riled about about it because it touches on hot button topics like health insurance and obesity. But is this a real issue? Once, my co-workers and I all got our premiums increased because an employee's wife got breast cancer. She certainly didn't choose to get cancer. Should cancer survivors be banned from the workplace due to health care costs?

    I honestly can't muster up the energy to get upset. I take it for granted that my health insurance company is going to screw me over. They're about the bottom line and the bottom line is money.
  • srcurran
    srcurran Posts: 208 Member
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    Legally a 3-6 month "probationary period" is also a myth. Many companies are moving away from it and there's no legal requirement to have one formally spelled out.

    Choosing against someone because of weight is discrimination, but it's not spelled out by law and illegal discrimination. I know it seems unfair, but you don't want to discuss the issue based on misunderstandings or assumptions about the law.

    The ADA provides some protections under coverage for people who are "assumed" or "perceived" to be disabled even if they're not - i.e. assuming someone will get sick because they're obese.

    But it's hard to prove that's exactly the reason you're not selected.
  • TaraMaria
    TaraMaria Posts: 1,975
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    All of these opinions and points have been amazing to read.

    I guess my emotions about this stem from the fact that I was sick and couldn't do anything about my weight. Then as I desperately tried to loose weight, it wouldn't come off. If I was a single mom, trying to provide for my son and couldn't get a job in the condition I was in...the panic and fear would be unreal. I wouldn't mind paying more for healthy insurance or something along those lines as to make sure that others who were a normal weight could keep their cheaper insurance.

    As much as its a right for me to work in this country, isn't it a right for the employer to hire who they want? Shouldn't they have responsible people who haven't abused their bodies? I seriously feel baffled between an emotional rage and a logical thought. But if they start discriminating something like this, what next? Always the what happens next question...haha!

    Purrfect girl made an awesome point: Think about WHO is the working class in this country. Not people who can afford to get adequate rest, take vacations, purchase healthy foods regardless of cost, hire personal trainers, live stress-free. We are talking about AVERAGE, middle and lower class Americans who show up to work each day exhausted, eating whatever they could afford on their designated 30 minute lunch break - or, unpaid hour if they're really lucky.

    And what about the skinny people? Mind you, I'm not against thing people at all! lol! But there is a huge difference say, between me and my sister. I've fought tooth and NAIL to be the size I am. My sister? Looses weight eating pizza, the jaw motion of chewing...the whole digestion process...she could LOOSE 3 pounds. She gets a job, I don't. My brain just can't wrap itself around it.

    I see both sides. :noway: I just don't know which one is right.
  • abyt42
    abyt42 Posts: 1,358 Member
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    Obesity can be a tough battle to fight as there are so many physiological and psychological obstacles that come with excessive weight. However, it is in people's control and it is their responsibility to take care of themselves. I see it no differently than someone choosing to smoke. I'm not saying people choose to be overweight or obese, but they choose the things they put into their bodies.

    I'm not saying it is right if its discrimination, but gender and race don't drive up health care costs. Something needs to be done to give people a kick in the pants to lose weight. It's sad to think how obese the children now will be in the future.

    Of course gender makes a difference: if both the DH and I had been male (or female), we wouldn't have had 36,000$ of RSV vaccine for our twins.... or $900 for an IUD...or mammograms...etc...
  • fitnesspirateninja
    fitnesspirateninja Posts: 667 Member
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    Obesity can be a tough battle to fight as there are so many physiological and psychological obstacles that come with excessive weight. However, it is in people's control and it is their responsibility to take care of themselves. I see it no differently than someone choosing to smoke. I'm not saying people choose to be overweight or obese, but they choose the things they put into their bodies.

    I'm not saying it is right if its discrimination, but gender and race don't drive up health care costs. Something needs to be done to give people a kick in the pants to lose weight. It's sad to think how obese the children now will be in the future.

    Of course gender makes a difference: if both the DH and I had been male (or female), we wouldn't have had 36,000$ of RSV vaccine for our twins.... or $900 for an IUD...or mammograms...etc...

    A lesbian couple with children has to pay the same health care costs for their kids...and pay for double the amount of mammograms.
  • Want2bHealthE
    Want2bHealthE Posts: 39 Member
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    Another reason for health insurance NOT to be tied to your job in my opinion...


    Also... gender does drive up health care costs. Insurance companies charge more to insure women of child-bearing age... and older men. (Guess who worked in companies I worked at where I had exorbitant health insurance costs?)

    Well put - thank you! Health care should be a human right, not one associated with employment -- having smokers, obese people, or any other people who engage in risky behaviors (drug use, promiscuity, extreme sport athletes for that matter) pay more out of pocket for their care is another issue.
  • Want2bHealthE
    Want2bHealthE Posts: 39 Member
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    Damn. and this is where I say. THANK GOD I live in Australia. It scares me hearing how people in the US go untreated for health problems purely because they can't afford it.

    It is scary. Private health care is expensive and discrimination is a part of its framework. I think i would choose death before putting my family into unrecoverable health care debt if I found out that I was sick and needed expensive treatment.... or if I could afford it, I would join the growing number of Americans who are traveling abroad to get life saving treatment/surgeries for a fraction of what they would have to pay out of pocket here in the US - even with insurance. As happy as I am to be living in the US (after living abroad for three years), I am embarrassed that we will be the last country on the map with private heath care before anything changes.
  • BoresEasily
    BoresEasily Posts: 582
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    I'm surprised no one has mentioned the most obvious of all. What will be considered obese? Are they going by BMI(biggest joke ever), waist to hip, personal perception? Will it be a standardised method or up to employer discretion?
  • JaydeSkye
    JaydeSkye Posts: 282 Member
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    I'm surprised no one has mentioned the most obvious of all. What will be considered obese? Are they going by BMI(biggest joke ever), waist to hip, personal perception? Will it be a standardised method or up to employer discretion?

    I assumed they would use medical guidelines to determine is a person is medically obese. Now, the issue with that is that the charts can, and do, change and there is no way of saying what can, or will, be considered obese. Of course it won't be something we could all vote on... :laugh:
  • megamom
    megamom Posts: 920 Member
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    I have already seen this practice being used. Cleveland hospital won't hire you if your overweight and more are following. With this new health care reform more and more things will be eliminated as covered. They actually have food police in some countries that check your fridge to make sure your not eating things you shouldn't be eating if your diabetic. Health care reform, ain't it grand. It does make losing weight and getting healthy more a necessity then ever before though.
  • KatWood
    KatWood Posts: 1,135 Member
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    Interesting thread. I am lucky to live in Canada so we have free healthcare, however we do have health and medical benefits through work.

    I can see both sides of the issue. I don't think it is fair to equate bad habits (like smoking and overeating) with a disease that is outside of someone's control (like cancer). I think it is fair to charge people with known bad habits more than those without. That being said being overweight or obese would have to be shown to be due to the person't lifestyle and not related to other medical conditions. I also think there should be support and encouragement to help those people quit their bad habits. It might also help to phrase it as a reduction for the people without the bad habits rather than an increase for those with them.

    I don't know. It is a hard subject. And trying to figure out what does and does not qualify would be very difficult to do.

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