# Woman fired from Ruby Tuesday for being fat



## ChasingPeace (Oct 19, 2003)

Unfortunately, except in the state of Michigan and in Washington DC, size discrimination is not illegal. Please write letters! http://www.rubytuesday.com/info/contactUs.htm

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/story?id=165073

Quote:

Misty Watts - a widow, mother of three, waitress and student - has been struggling to get ahead for years on her own. So when she was let go from her job because she didn't "fit" the part, she felt alone and lost...

Watts says she felt as if she had been doing a good job, especially since she says she had been named employee of the month just days before she was let go by her district manager.

"What he said was, 'Misty, you know I have to call you in here because your shirt does not fit you correctly,'" Watts said. "'Your shirt will never fit you correctly. And you will never be able to buy that one that does.' And he proceeded to tell me I don't fit the image."
My letter:

As an overweight mother, I was saddened to hear about the discharge of Misty Watts for allegedly not fitting Ruby Tuesday's "image." Although my family enjoys eating at Ruby Tuesday, we will no longer be spending our money at a restaurant that promotes or tolerates size discrimination, and I will encourage my extended family and friends to boycott Ruby Tuesday as well. As I'm sure you know, the majority of Americans are overweight--discriminating against people on the basis of their weight just doesn't make good business sense. Please don't bother responding to my concerns with a canned public relations letter. My family will only return to
Ruby Tuesday when 1) Misty Watts is given an unconditional offer of reinstatement, and 2) Ruby Tuesday enacts a non-discrimination policy that prohibits discrimination on the basis of size.

Sincerely,
Chasing Peace


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## Rhonwyn (Apr 16, 2002)

You beat me to the post! I read this this morning and I couldn't believe that someone could go from employee of the month to fired! I hope everyone joins in your boycott of Ruby Tuesday until Misty is rehired.


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## Quindin (Aug 22, 2003)

AWFUL!!!!







I hope she does something about it


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## indie (Jun 16, 2003)

I also asked them to fire the person who made this decision.


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## TiredX2 (Jan 7, 2002)

Does anyone else have a problem seeing ABC? I can never get there!

Kay


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## Quindin (Aug 22, 2003)

I could not either


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## ChasingPeace (Oct 19, 2003)

I received this email from Ruby Tuesday:

Thank you for contacting us. We have spoken with Misty Watts, who appeared on Good Morning America, offered her the opportunity to rejoin our team, and she has accepted.

Misty was asked to leave our team for reasons other than her weight, but we made mistakes in how the decision to dismiss her was made and implemented, for which we have apologized.

We are happy that the situation has been so successfully resolved and appreciate your comments and interest in Ruby Tuesday.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

WOW!!!! Although wouldn't it be great if they actually admitted they were wrong?
Annette


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## RadiantMama (Sep 9, 2004)

What is OVERweight? Is that like special diet? Diet means "balance." Everyone is weighted. There is no "normal" weight no matter what the government says. Too many f***ing private institutions (Ruby T's) decide what is right and who is right when we know truly in our hearts that it is what is IN our hearts that matters. Don't take it personally or hard--though I understand the pain if you do--those guys are jerks. I'm already boycotting RT for being corporate. Thanks for listening.


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## ChasingPeace (Oct 19, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *RadiantMama*
What is OVERweight? Is that like special diet? Diet means "balance." Everyone is weighted. There is no "normal" weight no matter what the government says. Too many f***ing private institutions (Ruby T's) decide what is right and who is right when we know truly in our hearts that it is what is IN our hearts that matters. Don't take it personally or hard--though I understand the pain if you do--those guys are jerks. I'm already boycotting RT for being corporate. Thanks for listening.

RadiantMama, ITA with you about the terminology. I usually describe myself as "large" for that reason, but in my letter I wanted to emphasize that it was a bad business decision to discriminate based on size, and most Americans are familiar with the frequently-cited statistic that "the majority of Americans are overweight or obese," so I chose to let my terminology mirror that quote. i hope I didn't offend you or anyone else.


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## luv2*b*mom (Mar 24, 2004)

WOW! I cannot belive that is legal in some states! I'm glad she got her job back!


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## ChasingPeace (Oct 19, 2003)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *boysrjoys*
WOW! I cannot belive that is legal in some states! I'm glad she got her job back!

Yes, it's shocking, but it's legal in every state except Michigan and the District of Columbia.


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## bravofrenchie (Oct 15, 2004)

But she declined the job. Here's the E-mail I got from Ruby Tuesday:

"Thank you for contacting us.

Ruby Tuesday did not fire Misty Watts because of her weight. However, mistakes were made in her dismissal. We have apologized to Misty for that and have offered her the opportunity to return to our team and compensation for lost wages. Although she initially accepted the offer of her job back, she has subsequently made statements to news media that she has decided not to rejoin our team. We respect her decision and wish her well.

We do not make employment decisions on the basis of weight. People of all shapes and sizes - including those who are underweight, overweight, and average weight - work in our 725 restaurants across America. Our workforce is proof that we don't discriminate on the basis of weight.

We do have high standards for performance and appearance because our people are a reflection of our products and our brand, and they are the point of direct contact with all our guests. That's why it's so important for us to have team members who look and perform their best in every Ruby Tuesday ever day.

We appreciate your comments and interest in Ruby Tuesday. "


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## polka123 (Nov 27, 2003)

this whole subject is sad !







:


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## Breathless Wonder (Jan 25, 2004)

I wouldn't take the job back. IMO, I feel they would just look for some other reason to get rid of me when the furor died down, and next time they would make sure they didn't make a "mistake" in the way the firing decision "was made and implemented".

This whole thing makes me very sad.


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## cortsmommy (Jul 6, 2003)

Wow! Thats just horrible. I hope that manager was fired!!!


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## faith&mom (Nov 23, 2004)

I am glad she got her job back! I wish that the manager was able to be a compasionate human and admit the wrongdoing.







Karma comes to us all!


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## AahRee (Jan 23, 2003)

How horrible. I can't imagine how embarassing this whole situation must be for Misty. I'm glad she didn't take the job back and hope she finds something much better now that she's not working at Ruby Tuesday's.


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