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EU court: Obesity could be considered a disability


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Europe’s top court ruled on Thursday that obese people can be considered as disabled, meaning that they can be covered by an EU law barring discrimination at work.

The decision followed a question from a Danish court, which was reviewing a complaint of unfair dismissal brought by Karsten Kaltoft, a child-minder, against a Danish local authority.

Kaltoft, who never weighed less than 160 kilograms (352 pounds) during his employment, argued that his obesity was one of the reasons he lost his job and that this amounted to unlawful discrimination, an allegation the council denied.

The Court of Justice of the European Union was asked to rule on whether EU law forbids discrimination on the grounds of obesity or whether obesity could be considered a disability.

The Luxembourg-based court ruled that EU employment law did not specifically prohibit discrimination on the grounds of obesity, and that the law should not be extended to cover it.

However, the court said that if an employee’s obesity hindered “full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers†then it could be considered a disability.

This, in turn, is covered by anti-discrimination legislation.

According to statistics from the World Health Organization, based on 2008 estimates, roughly 23 percent of European women and 20 percent of European men were obese.

Source: https://www.yahoo.com/health/obesity-a-disability-europe-says-yes-105517458557.html

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is it really a disability if you can work to fix it, though? like obviously some people have conditions which cause them to gain weight more easily than the average person, but there are also people who are obese because of their eating habits and lack of exercise.

 

imo, a disability is something that you developed/were born with that you're going to live with for the rest of your life. i don't think obesity should fall under that category, but w/e.

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I thought it already was.

"Fat ass!"

"Fat asses!" :clausney:

Lady Gaga/ Madonna/Lana /Azealia Banks/ Jazmine Sullivan/ DEEE-LITE/ Moko
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Tove Lo

I like the idea of people not being discriminated but I wouldn't want it called a disability.

hop on that **** like a maniac
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LaMaisonGaga

Thank god there are gyms now. I know so many people who were obese years ago and look amazing now! :legend:

lamaisongaga.com
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is it really a disability if you can work to fix it, though? like obviously some people have conditions which cause them to gain weight more easily than the average person, but there are also people who are obese because of their eating habits and lack of exercise.

 

imo, a disability is something that you developed/were born with that you're going to live with for the rest of your life. i don't think obesity should fall under that category, but w/e.

I completely agree with this

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Well it depends from the kind of obesity, there are the ones that are not dependent from the excess of food but from hormones dysfunctions or other health issues, in this case I'm agree. 

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The advocate general of the European court of justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg issued a preliminary ruling on a claim by Karsten Kaltoft, a Danish childminder who was dismissed by his local city council in 2010 after reportedly being unable to bend down to tie up shoelaces. The court heard that he weighed more than 160kg (25st).

 

Why should someone who is unable to perform the basic duties of their job/career be allowed to stay employed?

 

If obesity is shown to hinder performance and capability, why should it then be protected? Employers don't want to hire a health risk, a liability, an employee who simply won't improve their bottom line; that's just a reality.

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Why should someone who is unable to perform the basic duties of their job/career be allowed to stay employed?

 

If obesity is shown to hinder performance and capability, why should it then be protected? Employers don't want to hire a health risk, a liability, an employee who simply won't improve their bottom line; that's just a reality.

Then you're against disability laws in general, because that's exactly what they're designed to protect. Companies are required to provide reasonable accommodations for disabled individuals so that they're able to perform at the same ability as other workers. In this example, if the guy couldn't bend down to tie their shoes, they could have had the children stand on chairs so he could reach them. It's not that hard of a fix, and he shouldn't not be able to find work just because people aren't willing to make minor accommodations.

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Well it can limit someone's physical ability so I don't see why not :huh:

This, but only if isn't their fault. If you eat Mcdonalds 3 times a day and donuts and Coca Cola.... :spin:

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