Discrimination based on weight or height is nothing new. However, New York City’s ban on this type of discrimination is relatively new. While courts have not compiled decades of precedent guiding how workers should pursue their size discrimination claims, some things are universal across all the groups the city’s anti-discrimination laws protect. For one thing, “blanket” policies that disproportionately harm a specific protected group are potentially problematic. Additionally, the city’s anti-discrimination laws are “inclusive and protective,” requiring that employers make decisions based on individualized assessments rather than rigid, universal rules. If you have been harmed by this type of inflexible treatment regarding your weight, you may have been the victim of illegal employment discrimination. To find out more, you should contact an experienced New York weight discrimination lawyer to discuss your situation.
A.H. was one of those people allegedly caught up in overly rigid rules that contributed to weight discrimination and cost her a job.
After she applied for a New York City probation officer role and passed the civil service exam, the city scheduled her for a medical review. At that review, a surgeon for the city allegedly told her to “leave and only return after losing 95” pounds. The city also provided the woman with a preprinted form that stated her weight and that she would need to be reweighed after completing the required weight loss.
Two months later, the applicant filed a discrimination lawsuit under the New York City Human Rights Law. Beginning in November 2023, the NYCHRL has prohibited employers from discriminating against workers or job candidates based upon their height or weight.
Pleading Discrimination Under the New Law
One wrinkle—which the court noted in its opinion—arose from the newness of New York City’s ban against weight discrimination. No court precedent existed that laid out the specific things a worker alleging weight/height discrimination did or did not have to plead to have a viable discrimination case under the NYCHRL.
The court decided that workers alleging size discrimination must make similar assertions as workers alleging other recognized forms of discrimination that violate the NYCHRL.
That meant workers asserting size discrimination need to establish that:
(1) They were members of a protected size-based class. (This could include groups like little people or people with obesity.)
(2) They were qualified for the job they held (or sought.)
(3) They experienced an adverse employment action or otherwise were treated less well than peers outside their protected group, and
(4) The action or treatment they experienced occurred “under circumstances giving rise to an inference of discrimination.”
The probation officer candidate in this case had all four of those things. Her complaint adequately stated that she was a person of large size, laid out her sufficient qualifications for the job (passing the exam and receiving an invitation to a medical review,) was denied the position she sought, and was told not to continuing pursuing a job as a probation officer until losing a specific amount of weight. Those assertions were enough to raise a legitimate inference of illegal discrimination.
Court: ‘Inflexible’ Standards are Contrary to the Law’s Framework
The court also highlighted the inflexibility of the NYPD’s weight policies and how that rigidity ran counter to what the NYCHRL requires. Relying “on a blanket policy, rather than an individual assessment of [a candidate’s] ability to perform essential job functions, strongly indicates” weight discrimination. Additionally, the city’s printed instructions commanding the candidate not to return until achieving a stated amount of weight loss highlighted “the policy’s rigidity and lack of accommodation. Such inflexible standards, as pleaded, are antithetical to the inclusive and protective framework established under the NYCHRL,” the court stated in its opinion denying the city’s motion to dismiss.
At Phillips & Associates, our diligent New York City height/weight discrimination attorneys stand ready to provide you with zealous and effective advocacy if you experience harm as a result of body size discrimination at work. Our knowledgeable team represents workers across the five boroughs impacted by illegal discrimination. To learn more, contact us online or at (866) 229-9441 to set up a free and confidential consultation today.