As we previously reported here, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and the Washington Supreme Court have been wrestling with whether obesity qualifies as a disability under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). The dispute involves an applicant for a position with a railway company who sued in 2010, alleging that the … Continue Reading
Search Results for: obesity and disability
Obesity Continues to Divide Courts: Washington’s High Court Says Obesity Qualifies as an Impairment (US)
As we previously discussed here and here, courts are split regarding the extent to which obesity qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). The Second, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeal have held that obesity must be accompanied by an underlying physiological disorder for it to constitute a disability, … Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit: Obesity Alone Is Not A Disability Under the ADA (US)
As we previously reported here, the issue of whether obesity is a legally-protected impairment is complex, and jurisdictions differ on the extent to which they consider obesity to be a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”). On June 12, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit joined the Second, … Continue Reading
Does Obesity Qualify as a Disability Under the ADA? – It Depends on Who You Ask (US)
According to the most recent data from the Center for Disease Control, more than one-third of American adults are obese. A person is considered obese when their weight is higher than what is considered as a healthy weight for a given height. With obesity impacting such a large portion of the American public, employers are … Continue Reading
EU Advocate General’s decision on obesity as disability makes fat lot of difference
In the end, the Advocate General reached the inevitable conclusion – that obesity by itself is not automatically a disability, but can be if and when it “hinders full participation in professional life on an equal footing with other employees”, or (translated into the UK Equality Act’s definition) has a substantial adverse effect on a … Continue Reading
Is Obesity A Disability?
Formerly, Michigan [pdf] was the only state to explicitly declare weight a protected class according to state discrimination law. However, at both the state and federal level, administrative agencies and courts are beginning to contemplate whether legal protections should be afforded to obese individuals under state law and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Amendments … Continue Reading
Fifth Circuit: Obese Employee Not Disabled Under the ADA (US)
As discussed in our prior posts on obesity and disability law, there is continuing disagreement in the courts concerning whether obesity alone constitutes a disability, or whether obesity must result from a physical disease or condition in order to be a disability. On February 27, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit … Continue Reading
Seventh Circuit: ADA Does Not Prohibit Discrimination Based on Future Impairments (US)
On October 29, 2019, railway operator Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (“BNSF”) prevailed before the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit – which covers Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin – in a case in which the company argued that its refusal to hire an obese candidate due to an unacceptably high risk that … Continue Reading
Employee health in the UK – has the employer’s responsibility gained weight?
Having survived almost exclusively on mince-pies and red wine over the festive period, I waddled into January with that familiar feeling of gluttony and self-loathing. The only saving grace is that I am not alone – I had been in the office no more than five minutes today when conversations about Christmas swiftly turned to … Continue Reading
