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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 January 2017
Case C-354/13, Fag og Arbejde (FOA) v Kommunernes Landsforening (KL) [2014] (not yet reported)
There is no general principle under European Union law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of obesity in regard to employment and occupation. Obesity alone is not a disability but can constitute a disability where it is accompanied by a limitation resulting from long term physical, mental or psychological impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder the full and effective participation of the individual in professional life on an equal basis with other workers (official headnote).
In December 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) issued a preliminary ruling addressing, firstly, whether obesity is a protected ground of non–discrimination, and, secondly, whether obesity can amount to a disability. This piece begins with an introduction to the topic of obesity, followed by the facts of the case, the CJEU's judgment and a comment on the decision.
1 Carmen Perez Rodrigo, “Current mapping of obesity”, 28 Suppl 5 Nutr Hosp (2013).
2 World Health Organisation, “Obesity and overweight Fact Sheet No 311”, August 2014, available on the Internet at <http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs311/en/> (last accessed on 20 December 2014).
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11 Elliot Larsen Civil Rights Act, Act 453 of 1976, Sec. 209.
12 San Francisco Administrative Code, Chapters 12A, 12B, & 12C, San Fran. Municipal/Police Code, Art. 33.
13 Human Rights Law, Subchapter II, Sec. 1-2512.
14 Law no 2001-1066 of 16 November 2001.
15 Article 119, Treaty Establishing the European Economic Community,
25 March 1957, 298 U.N.T.S. 3, 4 Eur. Y.B. 412.
16 Article 1.
17 Preamble, at para. 37.
18 Article 2(b)(i).
19 Article 4.
20 See Case C-13/05, Sonia Chacón Navas v Eurest Colectividades SA [2006] ECR I-06467, at para 56.
21 Joined cases C-335/11 and C-337/11, HK Danmark [2013] OJ C 269, 10.9.2011.
22 Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, opened for signature 13 December 2006, 2515 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 May 2008).
23 Paragraph 53, quoting HK Danmark, paragraphs 37 to 39, C-363/12, Z v A Government Department, The Board of Management of a Community School, [2014] OJ C 311, 13.10.2012, paragraph 76, and C-356/12, Wolfgang Glatzel v Freistaat Bayern [2014] (not yet reported), paragraph 45.
24 Owen Bowcott, “Obesity can be a disability, EU court rules”, The Guardian, 18 December 2014, available on the Internet at: <http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/18/obesity-can-be-disability-eu-court-rules> (last accessed on 21 January 2014).
25 Advocate General's Opinion in Case C-354/13 FOA, acting on behalf of Karsten Kaltoft v Kommunernes Landsforening (KL), acting on behalf of the Municipality of Billund, see paras. 55-6.
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31 Functional difficulties meaning ‘walking one–fourth mile, walking up 10 steps without resting, stooping / crouching / kneeling, lifting or carrying 10 lb, walking between rooms on the same floor, and standing from an armless chair’, Alley, Dawn E. and Chang, Virginia W., “The changing relationship of obesity and disability, 1988-2004”, 298 Jama (2007)CrossRefGoogle Scholar.
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34 Collins, Sandra K. and Matthews, Eric P., “Americans with Disability Act: financial aspects of reasonable accommodations and undue hardship”, 39 J Health Care Finance (2012)Google Scholar.
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37 Case C-303/06, Coleman v Attridge Law and Steve Law [2008] ECR I-5603.
38 See for instance, Equal Treatment Commission Opinion (The Netherlands) 2011-78 of 13 May 2011.
