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Employee Discriminated Against for Weighing 600 Pounds

The United States federal government has filed a lawsuit against BAE Systems Inc. claiming that the corporation terminated a worker for being extremely overweight and neglecting to accommodate him under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Ronald Kratz II, who weighed over 600 pounds, was employed at BAE's manufacturing location in Houston, Texas since 1994 and was terminated in October 2009.
The case filed on Tuesday notes that a human resources employee informed him he could no longer completely his job efficiently as a material handler due to his size and was then fired. He mentioned that most of job involved sitting at a desk and using a computer—when he wasn’t doing that, he counted and wrapped up parts to get them ready for storage. He also drove a forklift occasionally. When Kratz asked about being transferred to a different department, he was told that it wasn’t option.
Since being terminated, Kratz has lost over 200 pounds and is having difficulties finding other employment. His unemployment benefits seized about a month ago and now he, along with three daughters, is financially supported by his wife.
A senior trial lawyer with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Kathy Boutchee, also said that Kratz was ordered to wear a non-fitting seatbelt when he drove the forklift, and was never offered a seatbelt extender even though he requested one. Instead, two weeks later, he was terminated.
The lawsuit against the company accuses the company of violating the ADA by terminating an employee just because of his size, denying him job opportunities, and neglecting to accommodate what is classified as a disability. Kratz’s attorney said that the business could have simply accommodated Kratz and provided Kratz with a seatbelt extender, a requirement enforced by disability laws. An EEOC investigation discovered that other workers at the company were operating forklifts without seatbelts at all.
BAE Systems Inc. currently employs 100,000 workers worldwide and sells products and services for land, naval, and air forces.

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