Addressing the issue for the first time, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled recently that even “extreme” obesity is not considered a “physical impairment” under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) unless it both falls outside of “normal” range and has a physiological cause.
In affirming a federal trial court, the Seventh Circuit ruled in Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority that non-physiological obesity, even if extreme, is not an impairment under the ADA, thus joining three other federal appeals courts that have ruled the same way, most recently the Eighth Circuit in a case that NT Lakis attorneys briefed.
The over-400 pound plaintiff, who was removed from his bus driver job after his employer concluded he could not operate a bus safely, contended that he was removed because the employer impermissibly “regarded” his obesity as a disability, in violation of the ADA. The Seventh Circuit found, however, that the plaintiff failed to show that he was regarded as having an actual or perceived impairment – which by definition is limited to conditions or disorders having some physiological cause.
The Seventh Circuit’s decision in Richardson is available online.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.