On 18 December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a preliminary ruling in a case of alleged discrimination on grounds of obesity, referred to it by a Danish court.
The Equal Rights Trust welcomes the CJEU’s reiteration of the fact that the causes behind impairments which result in a person being considered to have a ‘disability’ under EU law do not have a bearing on whether or not that determination is made and that obesity may amount to a disability where the elements of the definition of ‘disability’ are present. However, the Equal Rights Trust notes that this means that there continues to be no protection under discrimination law from the stigma and prejudice many people face in the workplace as a result of their obesity and urges all employers to take measures to tackle ill-treatment based on such stigma.
The Equal Rights Trust published a case summary in December 2014.
