so now the question why can other people have sweater vests and i cant?
Hi Jimmy,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. From my point of view,
based on what you've written here, its tough to say if you're eligible for a discrimination claim. While I'm not a lawyer with a JD degree, I am an Industrial/Organizational Psychologist - sort of like an HR person, but more research and development focused.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1991, Equal Pay Act of 1963, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1967 are just a few laws that come into play during possible employment discrimination. Basically, these laws establish "protected classes" in which the employer cannot make judgments, hiring decisions, and termination decisions. They are:
- Sex
- Age (only considered for employees over 40 years old)
- Religion
- National Origin
- Disabilities (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991)
- Ethnicity
- Race
- Color
- Sexual Orientation (in some states, not all)
These acts (mainly Statutory laws, with a few Constitutional Amendments) were set on federal level and apply to all states and districts (with the exception of sexual orientation). Additionally, these laws apply to businesses with 15 or more employees (I believe - its been a while since I've taken an employment law classes!).
Unfortunately, the only area in which you
may fall is the protected class of disabilities, due to your weight. I say unfortunately because this protected classes is probably one of the most broadly and ambiguously defined areas within employment discrimination. From what I've read, weight is considered as a disability in some states and locations, but not all. For instance, The District of Columbia bans discrimination based on appearance. But since Amtrak is a quasi-federal agency, I'm not sure which laws and regulations they fall under. If anything, employment discrimination is not black and white.
Now, for disability discrimination, if the employer was investigated for a claim, they must prove they made whats called a "reasonable accommodation" that would not produce an undue hardship on the employer themselves. The most frequent example of a "reasonable accommodation" is a handicap assessable ramp to enter a building. These ramps are cheap to make and do not pose an undue hardship financially to the organization. However, if the employee demanded that the organization knock down their building and build a new one to make it lower to the ground to eliminate stairs, that probably would be considered an undue hardship. So, in retrospect, in my
opinion Amtrak would not be encountering an undue hardship by ordering another size vest - but then again, I don't know Amtrak's uniform ordering process.
So in other words, to sue for disability discrimination, the employee must demonstrate how the organization would not accommodate them because of a given disability. It goes beyond the idea that "Company XYZ would not hire me because I'm in a wheel chair" but rather that "Company XYZ would not make the necessary changes to accommodate me within the work environment, such as establish handicap ramps or modify company policy."
So please remember that I'm not a lawyer, I only knows the facts and descriptions of the laws to follow within my career. I've never practiced them in a court room or seen the various way in which they're applied to "real situations." So this is what I suggest you do:
1. Contact the EEOC - Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
This organization is a government run organization that monitors business selection and termination process, as well as their overall business practices. This commission was designed to protect the employee against discrimination and harassment by the employer and (as far as I know) free to contact.
They have representatives available to talk 8:30 am - 5:30 pm, EST at 1-800-669-4000. Their website (which is pretty helpful) is www.eeoc.gov
2. I know you mentioned you were using a lawyer already, but try to find one that specializes in Employment Law, if she/he does not. I believe the EEOC could help you in that aspect, or they may even take the claim themselves, depending on the nature of the alleged discrimination.
So I hope this helps - please let me know if anything is unclear or have any additional questions - I'll try to answer them the best I can, or direct you to the appropriate source.