Obesity must be tied to physiological condition for ADA protection

Federal Courts

By Jay S. Judge

Jay S. Judge, a name partner of Judge, James, Hoban & Fisher LLC in Park Ridge, is a defense attorney who specializes in trials, appeals and insurance coverage. Judge graduated with honors from The John Marshall Law School and served as editor-in-chief of the school’s law review.

Posted October 15, 2019 9:10 AM

Today’s case is one of first impression from the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled that extreme obesity is a physical impairment under the Americans with Disabilities Act only if it is the result of a physiological condition.The court examined two issues in reaching its decision:Is extreme obesity an actual impairment.Did the employer perceive the plaintiff’s extreme obesity to be an impairment?In Mark Richardson v. Chicago Transit Authority, 926 F.3d 881 (7th Cir. 2019), Mark Richardson was a CTA …

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