News & Analysis as of

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Obesity

BakerHostetler

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

BakerHostetler on

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

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

Obesity as a Disability Under the Americans With Disabilities Act

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protects most job applicants and employees from discrimination, harassment, or retaliation based on disability. While employers are likely familiar with many of the physical and...more

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

New York City Council Approves Bill to Ban Employment Discrimination Based on Height and Weight

On May 11, 2023, the New York City Council approved a bill to prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of an individual’s height or weight. The bill, Int. No. 209-A, was sent to Mayor Eric Adams for final approval...more

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

Is Obesity a Disability Under Texas Law?

Most employers in Texas are likely aware that the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Texas Commission on Human Rights Act (TCHRA), which is similar to the ADA, protect most job applicants and employees from...more

FordHarrison

“Yellowjackets” Star Is Body Shamed on Set by a Co-Worker: Is That Illegal?

FordHarrison on

Melanie Lynskey, a star of the new Showtime series “Yellowjackets,” recently recounted an incident in which a co-worker allegedly criticized her body on set.  According to Lynskey, a production team member asked her what she...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

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Fifth Circuit Says Morbid Obesity Is Not ADA Disability

In recent years, federal courts have increasingly split over whether obesity in and of itself is a qualifying medical condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The EEOC and some courts have concluded that obesity...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

Ninth Circuit Finds Obesity a Protected Disability Under State Law

In recent years, a number of federal courts have drawn differing conclusions with regard to whether obesity is a protected disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act. While some courts have reached this conclusion,...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

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP

Seventh Circuit Issues Another ADA Decision Involving Obesity Disability, Finds Future Impairments Are Not Covered

Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP on

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has issued another ruling regarding an obesity-related disability accommodation request under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). Earlier this past summer, we reported on another...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

Proskauer - California Employment Law

California Employment Law Notes - September 2019

California Supreme Court Invalidates Agreement To Arbitrate Wage Disputes - OTO, LLC v. Kho, 2019 WL 4065524 (Cal. S. Ct. 2019) - In the most recent chapter of the ongoing saga regarding the enforceability of...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

Dentons

Is Obesity an ADA-Covered Disability? Courts in Conflict

Dentons on

There is debate among employers as to whether or not being morbidly obese is considered an ADA-covered disability. Do you have to accommodate limitations that may be caused by obesity by treating it as a disability?...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

Laner Muchin, Ltd.

Obesity Not An ADA Disability Without Underlying Physiological Condition

Laner Muchin, Ltd. on

On June 12, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held in Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority that extreme obesity only qualifies as a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if it was caused by an...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

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

Seventh Circuit Holds That Obesity Alone Is Not a Protected Disability Under the ADA

In a matter of first impression before the court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently held in Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority, Nos. 17-3508 and 18-2199 (June 12, 2019), that obesity is not a...more

Cozen O'Connor

When is Obesity a Disability under the ADA?

Cozen O'Connor on

Complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act poses difficult challenges for employers, and one of the toughest issues to come along in recent years is how to deal with obese employees. Thanks to a new decision by the...more

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