Trucker gets fired for being obese and refusing to lose weight: 'I told him until I was red in the face to exercise, diet, do ANYTHING to make an effort.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
May 21, 2026 12:30 PM EDT

His wife is angry at him, and she has a right to be. 

It's a sad reality that there are some things you can't do if you're obese. This ranges from fitting on a roller coaster to running a marathon. When you're overweight, you can get shut out of a lot of things in society, which is part of the reason why there's such a stigma against being fat. 

Weight shouldn't have anything to do with the hiring process. If you can do your job and do it well, there's no reason why you shouldn't get hired, especially for work that doesn't require you to do anything physically. While it's true that some discrimination in the hiring process is unfair, some jobs are best suited to someone who can stay on their feet for hours at a time. Weight is not a protected class on the federal level, so unless you live in Michigan, the only state where weight discrimination is prohibited statewide, you're out of luck if you get fired for your weight. 

The man in this story technically wasn't fired just because he's obese. He got fired because he refused to use a CPAP machine, despite his job's insistence that he use one to stay healthy enough to drive a truck full-time. His wife is extremely frustrated that he hasn't put any effort into either losing weight or the far easier option of sleeping with a CPAP machine every night. If my husband lost his job over something completely preventable like this, I would be livid. 

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  • A man in an orange shirt taking off an orange sweatshirt
    via Yunus Tuğ (Unsplash+)

    An obese trucker packs up his locker after getting fired for not using his CPAP machine.

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

  • My husband's being fired because he's obese. And it's 100% his fault.

    My husbands employeement has a DOT certificate requirement. And for those that aren't familiar basically anyone driving commercial trucking has to pass a DOT
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  • A red semi truck driving down a highway
    via Nathan Anderson (Unsplash+)

    A truck driven by a trucker who passed their DOT. 

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

  • physical to ensure they can safely operate vehicles on the road. Which is completely understandable. He's been at his job for 6 years and the last 2 years he was told that there were
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  • several concerns they had that boiled down to his weight. Primarily the fact he needed to use a CPAP for a certain percentage of nights.
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  • Every 6 months he went for his re-eval and every 6 months the clinic would give him a temp extension on the principal he would fix said concerns. l.e lose the weight and no longer need the CPAP or just use the d In thing.
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  • I knew it was going to hit the fan one day. I told him until I was red in the face to exercise, diet, do f-ing ANYTHING to make effort and a.) get better for his own sake and ours, and b.) not lose his job.
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  • Well today it finally happened and they refused to renew it. His company has no positions that allow to operate without a DOT, we're solely down to my income, and we're absolutely screwed.
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  • He's beating himself up and says he feels bad enough without my anger but I can't help but not give a single F at this point.
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  • stuckinnowhereville Why won't he just use the CPAP?
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  • -btx- OP He would try but said it made him feel claustrophobic and he'd take it off in his sleep. Then after a few weeks he quit trying it all together.
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  • SensitiveBugGirl Has he tried different masks?
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  • dnllgr This is what I was going to ask. My mom tried 3 before finding the one
    via u/dnllgr
  • Many white mannequin heads with masks on display
    via Navy Medicine

    An assortment of CPAP masks with different designs meant to ensure comfort. 

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

  • SensitiveBugGirl I used one that goes over the mouth and nose for months before I tried a second one. This one covers your mouth and pushes up to your nose and has nostril holes without fully covering your nose. I like it even better! It even encourages me to breathe through my nose more. I wish I could use the even less restricting ones that only use nasal pillows, but I breath through my mouth too much. I'm only 32!
    via u/SensitiveBugGirl
  • TheFoxWhoAteGinger OP, I say this as a person who is unfortunately on the other side of the realm, don't stop at him. It may not make a difference in the end, but my husband was given a CPAP machine by the VA and he never used it. When it was damaged in a flood he never replaced it. He d d in his sleep. At 34. I wish every d in day that I would have bitched at him about it. But I was dumb and thought we had forever together.
    via u/TheFoxWhoAteGinger
  • NapsRule563 You weren't dumb, and I hate to say it, but your husband would have just resented you for nagging him. People make choices they think they can live with and don't consider how those choices affect others. It's not your fault.
    via u/NapsRule563
  • kesi He didn't lose the job because of his weight. He lost it because he wouldn't deal with the problem by either using a CPAP or losing weight.
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  • OrthodoxAnarchoMom If he doesn't feel bad enough to manage his career like a grownup then he in fact does not feel bad enough without your anger.
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  • Temporary-Warning883 Seriously, he needs to deal with the repercussions of his actions, and he's been given many chances, what more does he want
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  • Flat-Ad2071 I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how stressful this must be for your family right now. Is there a chance of him getting his job back if he got serious about it and made changes quickly?
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  • -btx- OP That's what I'm hoping but it'll depend on if they have a opening when time comes.
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  • Wonderful_Pea5843 Can he go on a glp-1 to support his weight loss journey? Hopefully he can get it under control and get back on the road for your families sake. I'm so sorry you're going through this.
    via u/Wonderful_Pea5843
  • -btx- OP He actually started last week. I'm hoping it helps. sooner than later
    via u/-btx-

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obese fired weight wife exercise husband trucker cpap breathing sleeping
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