There have been undercurrents of weight discrimination in the workplace for years, but a Texas hospital decided to go anti-fat full throttle.

A Texas newspaper uncovered the story recently reporting about a fat-adverse Texas hospital — Citizens Medical Center — and it’s unheard of policy of refusing to hire anyone with a body mass index of more than 35.

The policy, according to The Texas Tribune, states:

… an employee’s physique “should fit with a representational image or specific mental projection of the job of a healthcare professional,” including an appearance “free from distraction” for hospital patients.

“The majority of our patients are over 65, and they have expectations that cannot be ignored in terms of personal appearance,” hospital chief executive David Brown said in an interview. “We have the ability as an employer to characterize our process and to have a policy that says what’s best for our business and for our patients.”

The hospital’s policy may cause outrage, but it’s an extreme example of an obesity bias that has been percolating in the nation’s workforces, starting with seemingly benign measures such as encouraging workers to walk at lunch. (more…)

I was watching an episode of Top Chef Just Desserts on Bravo last night, and I almost fell off my chair when a talented pastry chef bowed out of the competition presumably for her kids.

Malika Ameen, a 35-year-old Chicago native and mother of three boys, studied at the French Culinary Institute and was starting to get a good reputation in the Chicago food scene. Snagging a spot on the show was quite a feat for any aspiring chef. But last night she decided to drop the whole thing even though she had just been showered with praise by the judges for her saffron panna cotta.

For weeks she had been talking about how much she missed her children, but it was a shocker when she walked away from it all. She seemed to offer a lame excuse that she wasn’t big on competition, but she was clearly dropping the blame for her departure on her children.

Is this a dumb or smart move? And why is it that women so often use their kids as an excuse for not following their dreams? (more…)

Today, Congress will begin debate on how the war in Afghanistan will be won given the toppling of the commander there Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, following fallout from a scathing Rolling Stone article last week.

But little thought will be given to the war military men and women will have to fight when they return home.

Finding a job in this economy is a challenge, and it’s even harder for veterans, and insanely hard for veterans who were disabled in Iraq or Afghanistan. Estimates put the jobless rate among vets at 1 to 2 percentage points higher than the rest of the population, and the rate among disabled, vets or otherwise, is nearly 17 percent. And if you’re under 25 and a returning vet, the rate was 21.6 percent last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

No matter which side you’re on in the political debate over the war, there’s no denying that a regular paycheck and a fulfilling job will help our soldiers make a smoother reentry into civilian life. That said, there are high hurdles they face when it comes to finding a job, everything from discrimination from prospective employers to not being able to drop the “Yes-Sir” mentalities once they take off their uniforms.

While many reservists will have their jobs kept open for them by employers, there are thousands of individuals who have only known military life and will have a tougher time transitioning. Some entered the military in recent years, right out of high school or college, did their tours of duty and are ready for the unknown civilian work world. Others spent decades in the military and now find themselves over 40 and wondering how to live among the suit set.

So what’s the biggest factor keeping ex military folks from landing jobs? Seems we civilians just don’t get what these brave men and women did over there. (more…)

For years, employers have been trying to get workers on the healthy bandwagon. But you guys haven’t been cooperating.

You’re still smoking. You’re still sitting on the couch and eating Yodels. And as a result, managers are taking out the big guns. (more…)

The race for New Jersey’s governor points to an ongoing problem in this country — it’s ok to discriminate against fat people.

Leading up to the elections yesterday, and even today, the fat jokes have been flowing on the Web about 5′11″, 550 pound Chris Christie who challenged incumbent New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine:

This from a website called Power Line on Christie’s win: “The fat man sings in New Jersey.”

Can you imagine if after Obama won the election you saw a headline that said: “The black man sings.” (more…)