Fitzpatrick v. Simmons Airlines, Inc

In Fitzpatrick v. Simmons Airlines, Inc, 218 Mich. App. 689; 555 N.W.2d 479 (1996), the Court affirmed the trial court's dismissal of the plaintiff's weight discrimination claim under the Civil Rights Act on the basis of preemption under the ADA. The plaintiff was a baggage handler whose employment was terminated for failure to meet the defendant airline's mandatory height and weight rule. On the basis of the foregoing, the Court in Fitzpatrick, supra, concluded, "'Any law or regulation that restricts an airline's selection of employees, based upon their physical characteristics, must necessarily have a connection with and reference to, and therefore must be one "relating to," the services to be rendered by the airline.'" Fitzpatrick, supra, p 692.