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I believe the poster you responded to is located in Australia ... They may or may not have disability rights laws but the ADA is only applicable here in the US.
No, I'm not, I'm FROM Australia, not IN Australia, and of course Australia has "disablity rights" jeeeeeeeezus
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,048,562 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Opyelie
btw ADA only applies to employers with over 25 employees AND if the "accomodation" would not cause undue hardship to the employer.
I believe it is 15 or more employees but, as you stated, the ADA does not require employers to provide accommodations that would create an undue hardship on the business. Also, the job candidate MUST be able to perform the "essential" duties of the job, which may include physical requirements if it is clearly stated in the job description. Finally, the candidate has to be otherwise qualified to perform the work required to obtain the job (degrees, experience, skills, etc.)
Location: The Chatterdome in La La Land, CaliFUNia
39,031 posts, read 23,048,562 times
Reputation: 36027
Quote:
Originally Posted by Opyelie
No, I'm not, I'm FROM Australia, not IN Australia, and of course Australia has "disablity rights" jeeeeeeeezus
Sorry ... Did not mean to offend you. I misunderstood your location and, since I assumed you were in Australia, was trying to point out that Australian employers are not subjected to US disability rights laws.
The admin assistant is often one of the first 'company' faces seen by outsiders. So Image IS important. Most people dont find 500 lb folks attractive. An employer would be very concerned about the amount of health benefits that this person will use...sick days and such.
Unfortunately stereotypes about being lazy and lack of self control will be there too.
I have to disagree, I've seen it with my own eyes. A former coworker was too heavy to bend/stoop/kneel and was unable to do a significant part of her job, which was filing. When she was let go we found about two years of backlogged filing that would have all gone in lower draws hidden in her office.
I really wish I had taken photos of her office after she was gone--it looked like something from that reality TV show "Hoarders." She was really clever about hiding the filing in with boxes of files that had been retreived from storage for an audit. This was the same woman who got a pedicure every other week because by her own admission she couldn't reach her toenails to clip them.
It was enough that it took a temp almost a week to get it all caught up.
I worked at a place with an overweight secretary who had trouble keeping up with the files. Bad deal, after she was released it was found she was throwing away some files in order to 'keep up'. These were government compliance documents as well...they would be up s-creek if audited.
She is going to be instantly dismissed by the vast majority of places she interviews at. And there will be plenty of "legitimate" reasons that no one is going to worry about a lawsuit.
Wow, so I guess the entire medical community is wrong, but you are right??? What arrogance. And any time you have to use the word "fanatical" there's something wrong (with you).
Actually, in the medical community, it is generally accepted that the Western lifestyle of high food intake and low activity levels leads to obesity rates. Medical reasons, such as thyroid conditions and brain tumors aren't so common.
70 years ago, the obesity rate in the US was very low. The advent of mass car ownership, suburbs and the western diet high in animal fats, low in fruits and vegetables and high in processed foods has led to high obesity rates.
In China, obesity was practically non-existant until very recently, with the advent of mass car ownership and Western fast food, obesity rates are skyrocketing.
I don't hire Obese people. Overweight is fine. Obesity is carelessness. I know people plenty of people that were obese for medical reasons. Once they got diagnosed and took it into their own hands, they became much healthier. It's the folks that fail to take it into their own hands that have problems. Appearance and health matters. Obesity is carelessness.
Her skills and personality would have to be much more exceptional than those of other applicants to overcome an employers reasonable and unreasonable prejudice against her.
If one is aware of a problem, fair or not, that is standing in the way,and it is one that you can do something about, it is up to you to change it.
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She was really clever about hiding the filing in with boxes of files that had been retreived from storage for an audit. This was the same woman who got a pedicure every other week because by her own admission she couldn't reach her toenails to clip them. 
