Labor Laws & Obesity

EEOC guidelines in the workplace

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity rates have skyrocketed since the 1990s. With the rising obesity figures, there has been an increase in weight discrimination. A Yale University study found that in certain instances, obesity discrimination occurs more often than gender or age discrimination. Several weight discrimination cases have gone to court with mixed results, and until recently there were no legal policies or legislative guidelines. Legislators and policy makers are beginning to address the weight-based discrimination issue.

Obesity Defined

The medical community defines obesity as having more than 30 percent body fat for men and more than 25 percent body fat for women. When a person is 50 percent to 100 percent above his ideal body weight or has more than 39 percent body fat, he is considered "morbidly obese," the CDC reports. In other words, obese is generally considered being 30 to 40 pounds overweight, severely obese is about 60 pounds overweight, morbidly obese is 100 pounds overweight, and super obese is over 200 pounds overweight.

Lack of Federal and State Laws

As of 2010, there are no federal laws that make weight-based discrimination illegal. The only state that has laws against weight discrimination is Michigan. Massachusetts is the in the process of forming legislation to prevent weight discrimination. There are some local ordinances in various states against obesity discrimination. The ADA Amendment Act of 2008 (ADAAA) provides the greatest degree of protection against obesity discrimination.

The ADA Amendment Act of 2008 (ADAAA)

The American with Disabilities Act protects individuals with handicaps or disabilities from discrimination, and the September 2008 amendment extended the definition of disability so that obesity and obesity health-related issues are considered a disability. The act became effective January 2009 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is creating regulations and guidelines based on the ADAAA.

ADAAA's Protection Against a Perceived Disability

The ADAAA also protects obese individuals from being perceived as disabled. In the past, individuals have claimed that although they were not disabled, their employers treated them as such. Under this clause, claimants won't have to prove that their perceived disability substantially limits one or more major life activities. A claimant simply has to show that there was discrimination based on an actual or perceived physical or mental impairment. However, if there is an essential part of the job that requires weight limits, an employer can justify its actions against an overweight individual.

Protection of Weight-Related Health Issues

Obese individuals also often suffer from accompanying health issues resulting from their weight. Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke, cancer, depression and osteoarthritis are common health ailments associated with obesity. The ADAAA extends disability protection so that these health problems can not be a reason for discrimination.

References

• Center for Disease Control: U.S. Obesity Trends
• International Journal of Obesity; March 4, 2008)
• you-can-learn-basic-employee-rights.com: Workplace Obesity
• U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: Section 902 Definition of the Term Disability
• Employment Practice Solutions: Weight Discrimination in the Workplace