Taking the Pulse, A Health Care and Life Sciences Video Podcast | Episode 179: Obesity Effects on the Workforce & Economy with Tim Dall, Healthcare Economist
Employment Law Now: Volume 3 Episode 45- Part 1 of 2 Back From The Summer Hiatus
Polsinelli Podcast - What Employers Need to Know About Obesity in the Workplace
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
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
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
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
I recently had occasion to write about cities and states revisiting their laws related to obesity as a protected characteristic and the potential for liability for disability discrimination on the basis of perceived obesity....more
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
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
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
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
In Taylor v. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company, the Washington Supreme Court recently held that obesity is always an “impairment” under the Washington Law Against Discrimination (“WLAD”). ...more
As predicted, Washington’s legislature has been busy over the past few months passing new laws that directly impact how employers conduct business. There have also been several key court decisions impacting workplace law of...more
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
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
Washington’s highest court has ruled that obesity is always an “impairment” under Washington’s Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), regardless of whether obesity is related to some other medical condition. ...more
“Just do it—cut the cord already.” For a couple of years now, I’ve dismissed outright this notion, often proffered to me by younger family members, friends, or coworkers. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. It just didn’t...more
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
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
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
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
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
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
On June 12, 2019, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling in the case of Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority, which was the appeal of a dismissal of the case after the lower court found that obesity is not...more
On April 4, 2019, the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court reaffirmed that obesity, standing alone, is not a protected characteristic under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD), affirming summary...more
As with so many ADA questions, “it depends.” However, a pair of cases pending before the 7th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals (covering Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) could provide further guidance. ...more
CHICAGO – FordHarrison LLP, one of the country’s largest management-side labor and employment law firms, filed an Amicus Curiae brief in the Seventh Circuit on behalf of the Illinois Association for Defense Trial Counsel in...more