Obesity and the Americans with Disabilities Act: Are One Third of Americans Disabled?
In June 2013, the American Medical Association (AMA), the nation’s largest physician organization, held its annual meeting to meet and discuss emerging issues in public health and science. At this meeting, the AMA adopted policy that recognizes obesity as a disease requiring a range of medical interventions to advance obesity treatment and prevention. AMA board member Patrice Harris, M.D., explained that “recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans.” On the heels of this announcement, however, the unanswered question is what effect the AMA’s recognition of obesity as a disease will have on the treatment of obesity under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment based on disability. Under the ADA, a “disability” is defined as:
(A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of such individual;
(B) a record of such an impairment; or
(C) being regarded as having such an impairment.
Historically, courts in many jurisdictions interpreted this definition of “disability” narrowly – often finding that the employee or applicant bringing suit was not disabled because he or she did not have a physical or mental impairment or that impairment did not “substantially limit” one or more of the individual’s major life activities. Thus, many of the ADA cases brought by obese employees or applicants have turned on the issue of whether obesity constitutes an impairment. Courts addressing this issue generally have taken one of two approaches: Some courts have found that only morbid obesity (where the body weight is 100% over the normal range) constitutes a physical impairment and is protected, while other courts have determined that obesity (morbid or otherwise) is a physical impairment only if it is the result of a physiological disorder or condition.
In 2009, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) was passed, rejecting the narrow approach the courts had taken and significantly expanding coverage of disabilities under the ADA. The ADAAA’s stated purpose was to reinstate a “broad scope of protection” under the original ADA. To this end, the ADAAA expanded the scope of what is considered a major life activity, lowered the standard for establishing that a major life activity was “substantially limited,” and made it easier for an individual to show that he or she was regarded as having a disability. Since the ADA was amended, federal courts have been increasingly lenient (and the EEOC has become increasingly aggressive) in defining what should be considered an impairment under the ADAAA.
Very few cases involving obese plaintiffs have been decided since the ADA was amended. But employers should recognize that in light of the AMA’s announcement, the expansive purpose of the ADAAA, and the broad definition of impairment provided in the EEOC’s regulations, plaintiffs are more likely than ever to argue that all obese individuals have an impairment and are thus disabled.
The AMA’s recent announcement that obesity is considered a disease will tilt the odds even further in favor of obese plaintiffs. Such plaintiffs will likely use this announcement to argue for ADAAA coverage for all obese claimants – even those who are not morbidly obese and do not otherwise suffer from an underlying physiological disorder or condition. The AMA’s announcement could also lead to more claims that employers regarded obese individuals as disabled. Because plaintiffs no longer have to establish that the employer regarded the obese employee as being substantially limited in a major life activity in order to show that they were regarded as disabled, the AMA’s announcement that obesity is a disease will likely increase employers’ perception that obesity is an impairment.
Only time will tell whether obese employees and applicants will attempt to use the AMA’s announcement to argue that all obese individuals are disabled. In the meantime, however, employers must tread lightly in judging employees on their weight, handling accommodation requests from obese individuals, and addressing employee complaints related to this issue.
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