Despite studies suggesting majority support for laws prohibiting discrimination based upon weight, weight discrimination has remained mostly legal in the United States. But later this month, height and weight discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations will no longer be legal in New York City following the passage of Int. 0209-2022, which takes effect on Nov. 22.

This article examines the issues New York City employers and employment law practitioners can expect to grapple with under this new ordinance.

Whether due to fears of courts overrun by lawsuits in a nation struggling with an obesity epidemic or continuing stigma arising from a culture of "fat-shaming," laws banning height, weight or personal appearance discrimination have thus far failed to catch on, even as many state and local legislatures have expanded the protected categories under anti-discrimination statutes in recent decades. In fact, prior to the passage of the New York City ordinance, only one state—Michigan, which added height and weight as protected categories in 1976—and a handful of municipalities had passed such laws.