 Obesity can constitute a disability in certain circumstances, the EU's highest court has ruled. The European Court of Justice was asked to consider the case of a male childminder in Denmark who says he was sacked for being too fat. The court said that if obesity could hinder "full and effective participation" at work then it could count as a disability. The ruling is binding across the EU. “If employers suddenly have to start ensuring that they've got wider seats, larger tables, more parking spaces for people who are obese, I think then we're just making the situation worse.”Jane Deville Almond British Obesity Society Judges said that obesity in itself was not a disability - but if a person had a long term impairment because of their obesity, then they would be protected by disability legislation. The case centres around childminder Karsten Kaltoft who weighs about 160kg (25 stone). He brought a discrimination case against his employers of 15 years, Billund local authority, after he was sacked four years ago. The authority said a fall in the number of children meant Mr Kaltoft was no longer required. But Mr Kaltoft said he was dismissed because he was overweight. 'No problems' Earlier this year he told the BBC that reports he was so fat he was unable to bend down to tie children's shoelaces were untrue. Describing his work with... |
Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Jun 21, 2012
In a report issued by NCCI Holdings Inc., a company that generates workers' compensation insurance rates in many jurisdictions, the increased cost factors for obesity were reported. "The statistical analysis shows that ...
Mar 20, 2010
Now a Court has ordered that an insurance company must treat a persons obesity as an extension of its medical benefits so that weight reduction can occur and the underlying work related condition can be addressed.
Sep 23, 2011
We thought it was a fitting topic for our workers' law blog because NFL linemen must embrace this condition in order to stay in peak performance. It's called chronic obesity. These days, to be an NFL lineman, you not only have ...
Mar 15, 2014
Workers' compensation is affected by obesity as well. A work injury or disease, coupled with chronic obesity, frequently becomes much more difficult to deal with. The usual methods of treatment may not be possible for an ...
