What to do if I was put on a 90 suspension for not meeting weight requirements for my company?

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What to do if I was put on a 90 suspension for not meeting weight requirements for my company?

At the time of suspension, I was told that I would have to complete a program to go back to work. Then, 60 days after suspension, I was told the the program was not available to employees in my region.

Asked on December 31, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, Tennessee

Answers:

SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney

Answered 11 years ago | Contributor

Do you have a written employment contract? If you do, you can enforce any of its terms that would protect you in this case, such as limitations on the reasons for disciplinary action or a specified disciplinary process. However, if you do not have an employment contract, you are an employee at will. Just as an employee at will may be terminated at any time, for any reason, so can they also be suspended at any time for any reason. You could try to argue that, if you are obese, that this amounts to illegal discrimination against the disabled; however 1) I am not aware of obesity having been considered a disability for this purpose; and 2) even if it were to be considered a disability, if the weight requirements fill a valid, business related purpose (e.g. you have to be able to fit into a certain-sized space to do maintenance work, if that's your job; you have to be able to climb or carry a certain amount of weight, if that's a job requirement; etc.), they could likely enforce the weight requirement in any event.


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