The American Medical Association (AMA) has officially designated obesity as a disease. The AMA also stated that obesity is a “multi-metabolic and hormonal disease state” that leads to unfavorable outcomes like type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of all U.S. adults can be classified as obese. The AMA’s action likely will result in increased insurance coverage for obesity treatments, such as weight-loss drugs, surgery, and even counseling. The AMA’s designation also will have implications for Employers by increasing the likelihood that obesity now will be deemed a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act as amended (ADAAA).
In the past, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), which enforces the ADAAA, has said that persons who are morbidly obese―that is, individuals who have a body weight more than 100 percent over the norm―have a physical impairment that may rise to the level of a disability. So far, the courts have reached varying conclusions about whether obese individuals can pursue disability discrimination claims. Many courts have taken the position that excessive weight or obesity isn’t a disability except in specific instances when there is an underlying physiological disorder that constitutes a physical impairment. Other courts, however, have held that persons who are severely obese are disabled without requiring any proof of physiological cause.
What does this mean for your Company?
- Obese employees will be entitled not only to the nondiscrimination protections of the ADAAA but also to reasonable accommodations. Therefore, if an obese employee requests a special ergonomic chair because of his/her obesity, you will need to consider such a request as a potential reasonable accommodation under the ADAAA.
- Obese employees may be considered as a serious health condition for purposes of providing leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).
- Always take an employee’s accommodation request seriously. If you cannot provide an accommodation, explain why and consider other alternatives. Document all accommodation requests and special accommodations you have made as the employer.
