My direct supervisor at a new job asked me if my wife was overweight, too. This was the afternoon of my second day working directly for her. At a later date she had mentioned to me how I need to get rid of that as she pointed at my stomach. A few days after that she noticed braces on my arm and asked me what was wrong. I told her that I thought it was carpal Tonnele or arthritis or something and her response was that being overweight has lots of side effects that we wouldn't think of and did I really want to be unhealthy for the rest of my life. About six or seven working days after that I was let go from my new job because I did not fit in. I had worked there for a total of four weeks and maybe a couple days.
Harassment is unlawful in North Carolina only if it is directed to you on the basis of an unlawful factor such as race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age, 40 or older. Harassing someone because he is overweight is unfair, but not unlawful.
Further, NC an employment-at-will state which means you can be fired for any reason and there is no liability for the employer unless there is an unlawful motive for the action taken against you. There are generally only two forms of unlawful motives: unlawful discrimination or unlawful retaliation. Discrimination in employment is unlawful if it is due to race, color, sex, national origin, religion, disability or age 40 or older. Again, firing you because you are overweight is unfair, but not unlawful. However, it does give me pause that she mentioned your arm braces. The Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against employees or applicants for employment due to a disability. The ADA also requires an employer to provide a reasonable accommodation to an employee or applicant with a disability that will allow the person to perform the essential functions of the job.
While it is a stretch, if she thought you had a disability, or you actually have a disability, and she fired you because of the disability or her belief that you had a disability, then that could be unlawful.
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