Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 24, 1993 TAG: 9311240143
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Boston Globe
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday upheld a lower court ruling that found the Department of Mental Health discriminated against Bonnie Cook by refusing to rehire her as an attendant at the Ladd Center for disabled adults unless she lost 183 pounds.
She weighed 329 1/2 pounds when she applied and was told to slim down to 300 pounds to be considered for rehiring, she said.
When she succeeded, the center's doctor said she actually needed to weigh at most 146 pounds, she said.
"I'm glad it's over," said Cook. "It's been five long years. This is a great decision for me as well as other people discriminated against for the same reason."
The state had argued that Cook was responsible for causing her obesity and therefore could not sue under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which protects the rights of the disabled.
"This starts to right some of the injustices done to people with obesity and other disabilities," said James Goodman, senior staff attorney with the Persons with Disabilities Law Center in Atlanta. "It is a great decision."
The ruling allows people to bring discrimination claims if they are "morbidly" obese, which is defined as more than 100 percent over their optimal weight.
"In a society that all too often confuses `slim' with `beautiful' or `good,' morbid obesity can present formidable barriers to employment," wrote Judge Bruce M. Selya. "Where, as here, the barriers transgress federal law, those who erect and seek to preserve them must suffer the consequences."
Cook had worked at the Ladd Center, a state run residential facility, for several years and had a spotless record when she left in 1986.
by CNB