Applicant Who Was Denied Interview At Weight Watchers Can Proceed with Pregnancy Discrimination Claim

A woman who was pregnant may be able to maintain an employment discrimination lawsuit against weight watchers. In EEOC v. The WW Group, a pregnant woman filed a claim against Weight Watchers after they failed to grant her even an interview.

The woman was allegedly denied the opportunity to even apply for the job because she was pregnant. She then sued, asserting that Weight Watchers violated the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. As part of her evidence, the woman noted that Weight Watchers had in pace a weight policy requiring all applicants must be at a “personal goal weight” in order to be eligible for hire. She claimed that despite being pregnant, she was still within her goal weight range. Regardless, she was still denied the opportunity to apply for the job.

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits sex discrimination on the basis of pregnancy. If you believe you have suffered discrimination because of a pregnancy, it is important to consult with a top Georgia employment discrimination attorney right away.

Here, the woman submitted an employment opportunity card to WW in March 2009, expressing her interest in becoming a group leader or receptionist. Shortly thereafter she became pregnant with her second child. She was subsequently invited to interview in September 2009, when she was roughly 5 months pregnant. The woman informed the hiring coordinator that she was pregnant, but that she was still interested in working for WW. The hiring coordinator then responded that it wasn’t worth it to interview because “WW didn’t hire pregnant women.” She also stated that only someone who is already working for WW when they become pregnant can remain employed.

The court found that the potential applicant could maintain her claim for pregnancy discrimination, using WW’s own reasoning that a group leader who becomes pregnant “has no negative impact on the credibility of the WW program” and “is not inherently an example of a failure of the program’s goals or methods at all.”

As a result, the woman was able to continue with her claim for pregnancy discrimination.

As the court noted, the woman’s pregnancy had no bearing on whether she could perform the job.

For more information about pregnancy discrimination or if you believe that you have been discriminated against as the result of being pregnant, please contact the top Atlanta pregnancy discrimination lawyers at Buckley Bala Wilson Mew LLP for an immediate case evaluation.