As America continues to suffer from an obesity epidemic, there is a growing tendency for employees of normal body weight to show hostility towards obese employees. More and more obese employees are feeling slighted by non obese employees in the workplace, particularly obese women.

Some say that the increase in obesity discrimination is due to the rising number of obese employees in the workplace, while others feel that this is due to the growing awareness of the health risks of obesity and the subsequent increase in overweight workers speaking up about obesity discrimination.

In addition, more and more American companies are trying to cut health care costs by encouraging their employees to exercise and to lose weight, offering incentives to employees that succeed in their efforts. As a result, obese workers feel demoralized and financially penalized if they cannot lose the weight. But obese men experience less discrimination than do obese women.

According to a recent survey of 2,000 overweight women conducted by Yale University, 53 percent of respondents said co-workers stigmatized them, and 43 percent said their employers stigmatized them. In another study cited in Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination, 16 percent of employers admitted they would not hire an obese woman under any conditions, and another 44 percent reported they would only hire them under certain circumstances.

Clearly, obese women experience discrimination in the workplace on a large scale (no pun intended) than men, whether covert or overt. Overweight women also experience pay discrimination. Tennessee State University economists conducted a study that revealed that while obese men and women earn on average anywhere from 1 to 6 percent less than “normal” weight employees, heavy women can expect to earn less than heavy men.

Obesity discrimination against women also transcends race, when it comes to pay. In yet another study, this one by John Cawley, a professor at Cornell University, the heavier white working women are, the less money they make. Cawley also found only weak evidence that overweight Hispanic women earn less, and no evidence that the wages of overweight black women are affected at all. However, the study found no evidence that weight affects the probability of employment or of holding a job for White, Black, or Hispanic overweight women.

Unfortunately, if you feel that you have been discriminated against at work because of your weight, its is an uphill battle to prove the allegation. Currently, the only state that bans discrimination against weight is Michigan. If you live outside Michigan, the best course of action is to contact the EEOC and seek redress under the terms of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If your obesity is the result of an illness like diabetes or thyroid problems, or if your employer feels your obesity is a disability and demotes or fires you, chances are that you have a strong claim under the ADA.