City set to ban weight discrimination
NEW YORK >> New York City is set to become the largest U.S. city to ban discrimination based on a person's weight.
Thursday, the New York City Council is expected to approve a bill that adds a person's weight to the list of characteristics that are protected from discrimination, along with race, gender, age, religion and sexual orientation.
The law would prohibit employers and businesses from discriminating in employment, housing and access to public accommodations.
The measure is supported by a majority of the City Council, with 33 cosponsors out of 51 members. Mayor Eric Adams, a
Democrat who wrote a book about losing 35 pounds on a plant-based diet, has not committed to signing the bill but has been supportive of the effort.
“We should never treat people differently because of their weight,” Adams said at a news conference last month.
The bill is part of a growing national campaign to address weight discrimination, with lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts considering similar measures. Michigan and Washington state already prohibit it, as do some cities, like Washington, D.C. State lawmakers in New York also are considering a weight discrimination law.
Some business leaders and Republicans had expressed concerns about the bill, including Kathryn
Wylde, president of the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy group, who said that it would be yet another onerous mandate for companies and that enforcement would ultimately be left to the courts, placing a burden on employers, regulators and the judicial system.
The bill's sponsor, Shaun Abreu, said he hoped the law would raise awareness about treating heavier people with respect. He said he was confident that the mayor would sign the bill because his office helped negotiate the details with him.
“This vote is more than just providing a legal remedy to bring claims against employers and landlords for using weight as a factor,” he said. “It's also about changing the culture in how we think about weight.”