Crystal Harrington, a 22-year-old single mother, faced weight-related discrimination during a job interview at Baytown Seafood in West Columbia. The manager rejected her for a waitressing job, citing appearance concerns. Harrington expressed her disappointment, stating, “While you might have a skinny waitress do a really crappy job, she’s going to get the tips, whereas big girls like us won’t get the tip.”

Despite being offered the job, Harrington declined due to the manager’s insensitivity. She felt discriminated against, although the manager may not have violated any laws. Harrington offered some valuable advice, saying, “If you’re going to be that discouraging and you are going to look at me like that just because of my size, I don’t want to work for you.”

Mary Pruett, the manager in question, denied making such remarks about Harrington’s size and emphasized that the restaurant employs staff of all sizes. She defended her stance, saying, “Nothing was said about size because you have all sizes working here, and I can’t determine what the customer is going to give in tips.”

Harrington’s experience, shared on social media, sparked a public discussion about discrimination in the workplace, leaving us with a valuable lesson on empathy and fairness.