News & Analysis as of

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Hiring & Firing Obesity

BakerHostetler

Attention, New York City Employers: Discrimination Based on Height or Weight Is Now Prohibited

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As previewed in a prior alert, discrimination based on height or weight is now prohibited in New York City. On May 26, Mayor Eric Adams signed into law the bill that the New York City Council passed on May 11, which adds a...more

Fisher Phillips

Current Trends In Combating Weight Discrimination In The Workplace

Fisher Phillips on

Employers everywhere should be well-versed in the main federal civil rights laws, offering protection to your employees and applicants from workplace discrimination based on age, disability, sex, gender, religion, race, and...more

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Seventh Circuit Rules the ADA Does Not Protect Future Disabilities

Miles & Stockbridge P.C. on

On October 29, 2019, the Seventh Circuit held that Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (“BNSF”) did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) by refusing to hire a job applicant due to his obesity. The...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Can An Employer Refuse To Hire An Employee Because Of The Employee’s Risk Of Developing A Disability?

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The Seventh Circuit joins the Eighth, Ninth and Tenth Circuits in holding that such a refusal would not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Shell v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, No. 19-1030, the...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Seventh Circuit Rejects ADA Claim Based on Fear of Future Disabilities

The Americans with Disabilities Act prohibits discrimination in employment against persons who are disabled, as well as those regarded as disabled. Last week, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals joined other federal courts...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

Obesity Is Always a Disability Under the Washington Law Against Discrimination

In a departure from the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other state anti-discrimination laws, the Washington Supreme Court (7-2) recently ruled that obesity “always” qualifies as an impairment under the...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Ninth Circuit Dodges The Question Of Whether Morbid Obesity Is An “Impairment” Under The ADA; EEOC Says Yes

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

On August 20, 2019, the Ninth Circuit dodged answering the question of whether morbid obesity is a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In Valtierra v. Medtronic Inc., No. 17-15282, the Ninth Circuit affirmed...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Seventh Circuit Weighs In On Obesity As A Disability Under The ADA

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

In an issue of first impression in the Seventh Circuit, the Court of Appeals upheld summary judgment in favor of the employer dismissing the Plaintiff’s claim that obesity qualified as a disability under the Americans with...more

Perkins Coie

Washington Supreme Court Holds That Obesity Is Protected Against Discrimination

Perkins Coie on

The Washington State Supreme Court recently held obesity qualifies as an impairment under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD). The decision runs counter to other court decisions across the country finding obesity...more

Jackson Lewis P.C.

Washington Weighs In On Obesity Discrimination

Jackson Lewis P.C. on

The state of Washington has weighed in on the debate as to whether obesity is a disability under disability discrimination laws. In Taylor v. Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings Inc., a case that wound its way through the...more

Dorsey & Whitney LLP

Obesity Is A Disability, Washington Supreme Court Rules

Dorsey & Whitney LLP on

The Washington Supreme Court yesterday ruled, for the first time in Washington, that obesity can be a disabling condition that protects workers from discrimination and requires accommodation. Employee, Casey Taylor, sued...more

Fisher Phillips

Obesity: A New Protected Class In Washington

Fisher Phillips on

The Washington Supreme Court held for the first time yesterday that obesity is a protected class under state anti-discrimination law (Taylor v. Burlington Northern Railroad Holdings, Inc.). This decision runs counter to...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

7th Circuit Rules that Extreme Obesity is Not an ADA Impairment (at Least on These Facts)

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

The U.S. Court of Appeals in the Seventh Circuit has recently decided a case involving an extremely obese bus driver and denied his claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12101–12213, as...more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Case of the Big Bus Driver: Seventh Circuit Joins Other Circuits in Rejecting Obesity, without Other Physiological Condition, as...

Obesity has been recognized as a disease by the American Medical Association, National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization. Does that mean obesity qualifies as a physical impairment under the Americans...more

Fisher Phillips

Federal Appeals Court Says Extreme Obesity Alone Is Not Enough For ADA Coverage

Fisher Phillips on

A federal Court of Appeals just ruled that extreme obesity not caused by an underlying physiological disorder or condition does not qualify as an impairment under the ADA. Under the 7th Circuit’s June 12 ruling, proof that...more

Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP

Another court says obesity is not a "disability": Employment & Labor Insider

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled this week that severe obesity is not a "disability" within the meaning of the Americans with Disabilities Act unless it is caused by a physiological disorder....more

BakerHostetler

State Court Asked to ‘Weigh In’ on Whether Obesity Constitutes an Impairment Under Anti-Discrimination Law

BakerHostetler on

On Sept. 17, 2018, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals certified to the Washington Supreme Court the question of whether obesity qualifies as an “impairment” and thus a “disability” under the state’s anti-discrimination law....more

Foley & Lardner LLP

Is Being Overweight an Impairment?

Foley & Lardner LLP on

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), approximately 40 percent of U.S. adults are obese. The CDC uses the Body Mass Index (BMI) as the benchmark for obesity. BMI is a calculation based on height,...more

Blank Rome LLP

Too Fat to Work Here?—Not So Fast

Blank Rome LLP on

A decision this week from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has further fueled the debate over whether obesity is a protected impairment under federal and state law....more

Ruder Ware

Obesity as Perceived Disability

Ruder Ware on

I recently did a blog about obesity as a disability under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. I concluded that the condition of obesity did not automatically constitute a disability although courts could find that an employer...more

Ruder Ware

Obesity as a Disabling Condition in Wisconsin?

Ruder Ware on

A recent decision from the State of California has held that obesity is considered a protected disability under California law if the condition of obesity is caused by a psychological condition. This gave me pause to wonder...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Obese Employees May Be Protected Under FEHA

In December 2017, the California Court of Appeal published a decision confirming obesity is a protected disability in California if it has a physiological cause. In Cornell v. Berkeley Tennis Club, 18 Cal. App. 5th 908...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

“Weight Watchers”— Weight Discrimination in the Workplace

Seyfarth Shaw LLP on

Seyfarth Synopsis: ‘Tis the season of food temptation: the average American gains at least five pounds between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. California employers need to beware of weight discrimination in the fluctuating...more

Ruder Ware

Recent Disability Discrimination Cases Outline Employer Responsibilities

Ruder Ware on

Two recent decisions regarding disability discrimination have outlined an employer’s responsibilities when dealing with a potential claim of disability and need for accommodation. These decisions offer reminders for...more

Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart,...

Is Obesity a Disability Under the ADA Not Without Physical Impairment Eighth Circuit Rules

Obesity does not meet the definition of a “disability” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for either the discrimination or “regarded as” provisions of the statute, a panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals...more

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