For example, a person with obesity who is qualified for a job but is not hired for the position because of his or her weight may have been the victim of weight discrimination.
Typical outcomes if discrimination is found An employer may be required to hire, reinstate, or promote an applicant/employee. In addition, an applicant or employee may obtain an award of monetary damages.
New York City's legislation amending the New York City Human Rights Law, Local Law 61 of 2023, prohibits discrimination based on a person's height or weight in employment, housing, and public accommodations. The new law took effect Nov. 26, 2023.
New York City has passed a bill outlawing discrimination based on weight, joining a growing movement in the US to make size a protected trait on par with race and gender. More than 40% of American adults are considered obese and studies show weight stigma is pervasive.
The New York State Human Rights Law does not currently include height and weight as protected categories.
Ing to recent SHRM research on the state of weight discrimination in the workplace, 72 percent of U.S. employees who have experienced unfair treatment at work due to their weight say it has made them feel like quitting their jobs, and 11 percent of HR professionals say an applicant's weight has played a role in ...
A law that bans New York City employers from discriminating against applicants and employees based on their height or weight became effective on Nov. 22, 2023. The law, Intro. 209-A, added protected categories to a long list of factors that New York City employers cannot consider in making employment-related decisions.
In most states employees can be fired because of their weight. Michigan is the only state that has passed a law explicitly prohibiting weight-based discrimination and the Washington state Supreme Court has declared that obesity is covered under their anti-discrimination law.
Weight discrimination is when someone receives different treatment than others because of their body weight. People of higher weights are often discriminated against at work, school, healthcare settings, and in interpersonal relationships.
Sizeism, weightism or size discrimination is unjust or prejudicial treatment directed at people based on their size.