Size Discrimination And Clothing: How To Determine If Your Workplace Is Crossing The Line
Posted on: 17 August 2016
Most workplaces will have rules about what you wear. Some places will require a specific uniform to be purchased, while others will have guidelines about what types of clothes you should purchase and wear to work. If you have been accused of not having followed the dress code, you may get in trouble with management. If you think that some of the issues that you are dealing with is due to your size and size discrimination, you may need to take further steps. Here are some workplace size issues that you may see.
Issues with tight clothes
If you are being called into the human resources office or being written up because your clothes are too tight, this could be an issue of size discrimination. At a certain size, it may be difficult or impossible to find clothing that is loose on the body. If you are a woman who has curvy hips or a large chest size, not having clothing be somewhat restricting in this area can also be nearly impossible. If you have been written up after having explained the challenges that size dictates, this could be a size discrimination issue.
Belt versus suspenders problems
For gentlemen who are wearing business casual clothing, the standard outfit is a shirt and tie, slacks or khaki pants with a belt, and proper dress shoes. If you have a large mid-section, wearing a belt may be difficult to near impossible, depending on how high your pants sit and how wide your waistline is. As a person of size, you may need wear suspenders instead of a belt. If there is no exemption provided for wearing suspenders instead of a belt, or if you have been written up or excluded from work functions due to not dressing in the standard business casual, discrimination may be taking place.
Workplace comments and bullying
Though coworkers may rib one another or may comment on one another regularly, if someone is making snide comments about your size, this can be workplace bullying. Workplace bullying, including sarcasm or tongue-in-cheek jokes, can affect the workplace in a negative manner. If you have reported coworkers or others for talking about your size and nothing has happened, this may be a workplace discrimination issue. If you are experiencing workplace bullying and the management is well aware, you should seek out help from a discrimination attorney like those at the Law Office of Faye Riva Cohen, P.C. that is experienced with employment issues.
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