Workplace Discrimination For Weight In Chicago
Description
Form popularity
FAQ
Legal protections in California Employers cannot treat employees less favorably because of their physical characteristics, which include obesity. ing to FEHA, they also must provide reasonable accommodations for employees who have disabilities, including severe obesity, unless doing so would cause undue hardship.
Weight is not a protected class under Title VII, however, weight can be a characteristic of a medical condition. Thus, in certain situations taking an adverse job action against an employee based on his or weight (too heavy or too thin) can be a violation of the ADA.
Receiving negative comments or “health concerns” about your weight from anyone, including health care professionals. Complimenting someone on their weight loss. Receiving poor treatment because of your size or being denied/ required to lose weight because of your size in order toreceive a medical treatment.
Obesity discrimination is not currently afforded legal status as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). However, obesity-related conditions (eg, osteoarthritis), may be in scope where an employee is able to satisfy the legal definition of a disability under EqA 2010.
Even though discrimination based on weight has a negative impact on people's health and wellness, there is only one state in the U.S – Michigan – that has an anti-weight discrimination law.
Other areas that ban discrimination based on height and weight include Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Santa Cruz, California, Binghamton, New York, Urbana, Illinois, Madison, Wisconsin, and the entire state of Michigan.
Obesity discrimination is not currently afforded legal status as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010). However, obesity-related conditions (eg, osteoarthritis), may be in scope where an employee is able to satisfy the legal definition of a disability under EqA 2010.
So an employee might be deemed disabled if they have a BMI of 40 or more and the obesity has a real impact on their ability to participate in work.
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 ...
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.
