An employee’s obesity may be a disability covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal district court has held. The employer challenged the claim, arguing that the ADA does not cover obesity, but the court disagreed, refusing to dismiss the suit.
Joseph Whittaker sued his former employer, America’s Car-Mart, Inc., alleging that the company fired him because of his severe obesity. He also alleged that it regarded him as disabled and retaliated against him for filing charges with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by threatening to stop doing business with any other companies that hired him.
The employer asked the court to dismiss his claims, claiming that obesity alone is not a disability covered by the ADA. Instead, it only is a disability if caused by an underlying physiological condition, the employer argued.
In disagreeing, the U.S. District Court for Eastern Missouri found that premise relies on outdated case law and guidance. When the ADA Amendments Act took effect in 2009, Congress expanded the definition of disability and EEOC revised its guidance, taking the position that “severe obesity, which has been defined as body weight more than 100% over the norm, is clearly an impairment.” At least one other court agrees (EEOC v. Resources for Human Development, Inc., 827 F.Supp.2d 688, 693–94 (E.D. La. 2011); see Louisiana District Court Weighs In: Obesity is a Disability Under the ADA.)
Whittaker sufficiently alleged that he is disabled within the meaning of the ADA, the court said, allowing his suit to continue. Applying the same reasoning, the court also refused to dismiss his “regarded as disabled” and retaliation claims.
The court cautioned, however, that further proceedings are necessary to determine whether Whittaker’s specific impairment rises to the level of a disability (Whittaker v. America’s Car-Mart, Inc., No. 1:13CV108 (E.D. Mo. April 24, 2014)).
For more information on obesity as a disability visit Thompson’s HR Compliance Expert.