Boss fires 22-year-old employee for being overweight after only 6 weeks of working: 'Has my size inhibited my ability to do my job? No. Absolutely not.'

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Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jan 5, 2026 11:00 AM EST

If this isn't illegal, it should be.

One of the worst parts of the hiring process is that sometimes your resume qualifications and interview performance don't matter. You could spend hours expertly tailoring your resume to a specific job posting and writing a cover letter that any hiring manager would love, all for it to go to waste once you get in the interview room. Your interview could go fantastically well by finding the perfect balance between connecting with your interviewer on a personal level and tactfully answering each question. Yet, you get rejected for something you can't always control.

Unfortunately, some hiring managers care more about what you look like than if you can actually do a job right. This is a problem across society: attractive people are treated better, receive more opportunities, and, some might argue, have better life outcomes than so-called unattractive people. It's pretty easy for hiring managers to discriminate on this basis, since they are unlikely to tell a job applicant, "You didn't get this job because you aren't attractive enough." Unless you're a model or an actor, you might never know what your competition for a job looks like. 

Can your employer hire or fire you based on your weight? It depends on your industry and where you live. There are no federal laws in the United States protecting against weight discrimination. There are laws protecting against weight discrimination in New York City, but that law will not help the administrative assistant in this story because she resides in Utah. 

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  • The young woman in this story was trying to do her job as an administrative assistant. She answered emails and phone calls and sat at the front desk of a flooring company. Her boss fired her after six weeks and explicitly told her he did so because she was overweight and not a “good look” for the company.

  • Woman in orange sleeveless top using laptop computer inside building
    via AllGo - An App For Plus Size People

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • I got fired for the way my body looks

    Here's some relevant information, I'm a 22F, my boss is 40sM, I am 5'2 and weight approximately 200 lbs. I wear a size 14-16 for reference. I am definitely overweight.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • My job? Administrative assistant. I sit at a desk, answer phone calls and emails and help with the day to day functions of the company. Has my size inhibited by ability to do my job? No. Absolutely
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • not. His reasoning? I just don't have the look and he doesn't want me representing his company with the way I currently look.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • Handsome architect checking plans and blueprints in the office
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • JucheHospitality Yeah that's complete bs and if workers had any meaningful rights this would be illegal. But you know, capital has all the power and we have to beg for peanuts.
    via u/JucheHospitality
  • OP Boring_Dish_9348 I'm so beyond angry and there's legit nothing I can do. This was a private meeting where he told me this, it's my word against his.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • calamityangie Why would he hire you just to do this?! So bizarre.
    via u/calamityangie
  • OP Boring_Dish_9348 He mentioned this to me while I was being fired. He said he should have paid closer attention during the interview but they were scrambling to find someone. This is a small family owned business, so no HR.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • Mother-Chemistry7960 There's a lot you can do, first file for unemployment. Were there no other disciplinary actions, just a simple you don't work here any more?
    via u/Mother-Chemistry7960
  • OP Boring_Dish_9348 There was no other disciplinary actions taken. He did cite other reasons for the firing, but all of them are nit picking minor issues. For example, I accidentally scheduled one job as an estimate instead of a job. We were still able to get the job done and get our money for it.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • AmlTheFakeOne My guess is 40s bossman saw 22f and thought someone HE wants to look at everyday and probably attempt to with. This isn't about representing the company unless he owns a gym, health spa, etc., this is about who HE wants to look at everyday and the ego bump he gets from his assistant being a 20 something hottie in his mind.
    via u/AmITheFakeOne
  • OP Boring_Dish_9348 It's a flooring company, so I really don't understand what look I need to have to do my job.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • Man installing new laminate wood flooring abstract
    via Getty Images (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • DesTiny_- He probably delegated hiring to somebody else and didn't mention his preference.
    via u/DesTiny_-
  • Spreadeaglebeagle44 Wow. What a dick. Did you file for unemployment? You may also have grounds for wrongful termination depending on your state.
    via u/Spreadeaglebeagle44
  • OP Boring_Dish_9348 I've only been at this job for six weeks. I live in Utah, I checked and I don't qualify.
    via u/Boring_Dish_9348
  • SunshineMurphy When I was in college I worked the front desk of a company. My manager constantly hired young women who could not do ANYTHING correctly. Some of them even stole from the register. I asked him why he kept hiring all these incompetent people and he told me, "well you aren't pretty enough to be up there by yourself." Sorry OP. Some people really suck.
    via u/SunshineMurphy
  • rcinmd Being fired because you are overweight is legal unfortunately. It's not a protected class. It is weird they'd hire you and then fire you so quickly, they sound like jerks.
    via u/rcinmd
  • OddImprovement6490 Probably someone else he wants replace her with, but at the time that he hired her, he had nobody else. Management can be cruel.
    via u/OddImprovement6490

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assistant boss employee fired job overweight front desk utah unemployment women
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