Obesity is a disability, rules EU court

The European Court of Justice #link:http://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2014-12/cp140183en.pdf:ruled on Thursday# that obesity does fall under the scope of the EU's Employment Equality Directive, which seeks to prevent discrimination on the job.

The court was asked to make a finding in the case of a Danish childminder, Karsten Kaltoft, who was sacked from his job after 15 years in November 2010. Kaltoft weighed at least 160 kilograms (352 pounds) throughout the time he was employed.

The local municipality that employed him denies dismissing him over his weight, saying there was a fall in the number of children that needed care.

Kaltoft and his union disagreed, taking the case to a Danish court, which asked the EU Court of Justice for clarification. Specifically, it wanted to know if EU law prohibits discrimination on the grounds of obesity.

The court noted that while no principle of EU law itself prevents this - and that the law should not be extended to cover it - the condition was a disability if it is a "long-term" limitation that stopped a person from working "on an equal basis with other workers."

"The Court finds that if, under given circumstances, the obesity of the worker entails a limitation which results in particular from physical, mental or psychological impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of that person in professional life on an equal basis with other workers, and the limitation is a long-term one, such obesity can fall within the concept of 'disability' within the meaning of the directive."

The ruling means that in certain cases, obese workers in the EU can seek workplace protection under the bloc's anti-discrimination laws.

The case now goes back to Denmark for the national court to decide whether Kaltoft's obesity can be considered a disability.

jr/mg (dpa, Reuters)