Bloomberg Law
May 13, 2019, 10:22 AM UTC

Obese Workers Shielded From Bias? Seventh Circuit Will Hear Case

Erin Mulvaney
Erin Mulvaney
Reporter
Porter Wells
Porter Wells
Reporter

Chicago bus driver Mark Richardson weighed nearly 600 pounds when his employer of more than a decade decided it wasn’t safe for him to perform his job. Now a federal appeals court is poised to consider whether allegedly using his obesity as a reason to fire him violated federal disability law.

The case tests the scope of reforms over the last decade meant to tackle myths surrounding obesity, which the American Medical Association designated as a disease in 2013.

If severe obesity is recognized as a disability on its own under the ADA, affected workers would be entitled to certain ...

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