ICYMI: Employers cannot discriminate against obese workers in Washington state

Something of note from the end of last week: Washington state’s Supreme Court ruled that employers cannot refuse to hire obese workers who are otherwise qualified for a job. In recent years, courts have often debated whether obesity counts as a disability because the federal Americans with Disabilities Act doesn’t explicitly cover the condition under its list of protections. The case was brought by Casey Taylor, who was not hired by BNSF Railway after being told it was against company policy to hire anyone with a BMI of over 35 — Taylor’s BMI was 41.3, or in the severely obese category. Taylor sued, although his case was initially dismissed. In the ruling, judges said that obesity is a disability because it is considered to be a physiological condition or disorder by the medical community.