Cases in Business & Society Keeping Up AppearancesCan obesity compromise one's professional image?Julian Friedland, Ph.D.

New Sight, a leading magazine publisher in the natural products industry, was looking for a health & beauty editor for Delight, a popular consumer magazine distributed to health food stores across the country. Although New Sight was well known for promoting from within, the hiring committee had only one qualified internal candidate for the job: Frank Beers from the advertising standards department. Beers received an MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa, the best program in the country, and had already written a few excellent articles for Delight as a freelancer. On paper, he

seemed like a top candidate.

Unfortunately, Beers was extremely overweight. At 5 feet 8 inches tall and 260 pounds, he was clearly obese. The hiring committee was, therefore, doubtful that Frank would be convincing as an authority on issues of health and beauty. Julie, George, and Sarah were now meeting in a private conference room to decide which candidates to interview.

JULIE: Frank's a good guy, but I have to admit it's difficult to imagine him as health & beauty editor.

GEORGE: No kidding. He starts off each day with a cigarette and a super-grande triple latte.

SARAH: He's a great writer though and already knows a lot about the industry.

JULIE: Yeah, almost as much as he knows about the potato chip industry.

GEORGE: Too bad he's not interviewing there!

SARAH: Okay, guys, settle down. If word got out that he was disqualified because of his weight, we could be in serious trouble.

JULIE: But, let's face it. First of all, this job is usually held by a woman. Only one other man has ever held it and he was triathlete. If a man is going to manage a health & beauty section that appeals almost entirely to women, he'd better be at least somewhat physically fit and attractive.

GEORGE: Exactly. Imagine the slack jawed faces when Jabba the Hut rolls-in to represent Delight Magazine at the Natural Health Expo. Not a pretty thought.

SARAH: Perhaps, but the courts have consistently ruled that companies are not allowed to rely on the preferences of their customers as a reason for discrimination.

GEORGE: Still, employers have a right to take appearance into consideration. We wouldn't hire someone with poor hygiene, would we? It seems hypocritical to reject someone who stinks to high heaven but not someone who can barely fit through a door.

SARAH: That's different. Hygiene is a chosen behavior. Obesity is more like an affliction and can even be viewed as a disease.

GEORGE: Well, if it's a disease, it's the only one that can be cured by keeping your mouth shut and looking in the mirror!

JULIE: That's not fair. You don't know anything about him. He might have a metabolic

dysfunction.

GEORGE: I doubt it. But, could we offer him the job on the condition of following a

weight-loss program?

SARAH: That would set a bad precedent. Where would we draw the line in the future? Plus, physical fitness was not explicitly stated in the ad as a qualification. Therefore, the

courts would likely reject it as a BFOQ (bona fide occupational qualification).

JULIE: Well then, could we cancel this search and then re-open it with physical fitness

as a qualification?

SARAH: That's tempting, but I'm afraid it would be obvious under the circumstances,

especially if the job description were identical in every other way. Besides, I doubt upper management and our lawyers would approve of making fitness a BFOQ for an editing position.

GEORGE: Is Frank the most highly qualified applicant otherwise?

JULIE: No, but to me he's definitely in the top three.

SARAH: The bottom line is, if we interview him and he turns out to be the most qualified, we can still reject him on other grounds with little chance of him suing, so long as we keep our mouths shut-including emails. That means no wisecracks to friends, George. Although, I'm not surethat's ethical.

JULIE: But, we do have to balance all the costs and benefits of hiring him. Will he really be an asset if his ability to network in a highly health-conscious industry is deeply compromised by his obesity?

SARAH: Well, most everyone at New Sight does become more fit the longer they stay here. Maybe he will too.

GEORGE: He's been here for over a year and I've noticed no difference so far. We shouldn't hire him in secret hopes that he'll change.

JULIE: At this point, Frank has no idea he's even made the short list. If we simply don't interview him, he won't know the difference.

SARAH: He might if we hire someone obviously less qualified. But regardless, that's not really the issue here. What I'm worried about is whether we're simply being unreasonably biased against what may very well be our best candidate.

GEORGE: If you feel that strongly about it, is there any harm in going ahead with the interview and seeing what happens?

JULIE: I don't know. I honestly don't think I can interview him with an open mind. Do we really have to go through with this?

1. What types of illegal discrimination are possible when considering to hire someone who appears to be obese? List the laws and provide reasoning. Think through each law by asking questions such as: is hiring an obese woman less acceptable than hiring an overweight/obese man? If so, why and what law might apply? 2. Can weight be a BFOQ? Why/why not? If it can, give examples and reasoning. 3. Is obesity a medical condition covered by the ADA? Why/why not? Support your response with evidence. 4. Discuss how a company could reasonably accommodate an obese person for various types of jobs and in what situations would an accommodation be an undue hardship?