[Cassidy9]

Could I loose my job if I took my employer to court for discrimination ? He has called me fat numerous times. Mostly in front of other employees and customers. Today was the last straw. We had a new employee starting work and he referred to me as the Big Fat Guy that works on the counter. What are my chance of wining the case.

[ebaines]

Harassment laws vary by state, so what state is this in? In general you can sue over harrassment creating a hostile environment at work if the harrassment is severe (it permeates the work place and adversely affects your ability to do your job) and is based on you being in a protected class, which different states define differently. FYI, even if you could sue, there are a few steps to go through before considering a law suit, which I would advise you to consider:

1. Talk to the offender, let him know how uncomfortable this makes you feel, and ask him to stop. He may think he's being funny - let him know it's actually painful. If he says he's just having fun and doesn't mean anything by it, tell him his words have power, and they do mean something.

2. Next step - start a diary of specific occurences, and if the behavior continues talk to the HR department.
Good luck.

[smoothy]

Call the EEOC office... they won't take it up unless they feel it's a solid case.

But honestly... I've seen people lose cases that were far more egregious than calling someone fat.

You can all but kiss your career goodby there if you sue them... even if you win, they will find something wrong with what you did to use as a justification which would blow any retaliation case out of the water. If you loose, they will just send you packing. Or just make things miserable enough you WANT to leave. Yes they can EASILY do that without breaking any laws. Trust me....it happened to my wife...over a workmans comp claim, and a superiour that was hurling ethnic slurs and mocking her mannerisms and accent in front of other employees.. EEOC office are the ones that explained how hard it is to bring a discrimination case and win it.

If you are an at-will employee... you have far fewer protections than you think you have. They don't need to justify getting rid of you.

Not intending to burst any bubbles....but keep reocrds as ebaines recommended....talk with the EEOC office and know there is a 6 month statute of limitations to file after an event occurs. You can't win if you don't file...just recognise the risk you are taking.

[ScottGem]

I agree with smoothy. While legally he can't fire you for retaliation. He can bide his time and eventually find some excuse.

I also agree with ebaines. However, it sounds like you work for a small store so you may not have an HR dept to go through for such things. State Dept of Labor may help. Have you tried looking for another job?