An uproar over extra charge
for super-size dress
for super-size dress
Public health officials scold Americans
for being too fat and getting fatter, but cleaners, apparently,
need to be careful how they charge oversized customers to clean
their extra-large clothes.
A Maryland woman who was charged an extra
buck to have her size 22 two-piece dress ensemble cleaned filed
a complaint with the Better Business Bureau last month and
attracted the attention of local media with her complaint.
The cleaner said the customer knew of the
extra charge when she dropped off the garment, but nevertheless
has agreed now to post a sign saying that if garments require
special handling or procedures, an increase to the price may be
made.
That may not satisfy overweight people who
don’t think they should be charged more because their
garments are larger than average, but it should placate
authorities charged with enforcing pricing and
anti-discrimination codes, at least in Maryland. Weight and
personal appearance are not covered by Maryland or county
anti-discrimination laws, but the issue attracted the attention
of the Montgomery County Division of Consumer Affairs, which
enforces the Consumer Protection Act. A business that fails to
disclose additional fees can be fined up to $500 under that
act. However, officials said they are more interested in
compliance than fines.
One area resident who has tangled with
drycleaners before over pricing said fat discrimination is a
less clear cut issue. Professor John Banzhaf of the George
Washington University law school, weighed in on the matter,
saying, “Unlike discrimination based upon gender, race,
or national origin, discrimination against fat people generally
isn’t illegal.”
On his web site, Banzhaf lists as one of
his “major professional accomplishments” forcing
“drycleaners in the District of Columbia to cease sex
discrimination against women, and to charge the same price to
launder men’s and women’s shirts, even if the
latter do not fit on automatic pressing
equipment….”
However on this issue, Banzhaf, seems a
bit more sympathetic to the drycleaner.
“Whether or not special
accommodations have to be made for obese people… whether
it’s fair and legal to charge the obese more when it is
warranted by additional costs, and in general whether obesity
is more like smoking or like gender, are important emerging
questions,” said Banzhaf.
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