EU's Top Court May Define Obesity As a Disability

The EU's top court is considering a test case which could oblige employers to treat obesity as a disability.

Denmark has asked the European Court of Justice to rule on the case of a male child-minder who says he was sacked for being too fat.

Karsten Kaltoft weighs about 160kg (25 stone; 350 pounds). He told the BBC that \"bad habits\" had made him fat but that his size was \"no problem\" at work.

The court's final ruling will be binding across the EU.

It is seen as especially significant because of rising obesity levels in Europe and elsewhere， including the USA survey in England in 2012 found that more than half of adults were obese or overweight.

The Danish courts asked the ECJ judges in Luxembourg to clarify European law in Mr Kaltoft's case.

\"Doing job properly\"

In an interview with the BBC World Service， Mr Kaltoft denied reports that he was unable to bend low enough to tie children's shoelaces.

Describing his work with children， he said: \"I can sit on the floor and play with them， I have no problems like that.\"

\"I don't see myself as disabled，\" he said. \"We hope the outcome is that it's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat， if they're doing their job properly.\"

When asked if his employer， Billund local authority， had done anything to help him， he said they had paid for him to go to a gym for three months.

\"I tried regular exercise. Of course I don't run a marathon， but weight training: I did that， it was OK，\" he said.

He worked for Billund authority for 15 years and was dismissed， the authority said， because there was a decline in the number of children. No further explanation was given as to why he was selected for dismissal.

Future obligations?

Audrey Williams， an employment discrimination expert at Eversheds law firm， said the judges would have to decide \"whether obesity itself should trigger preferential rights， or should only impact where an individual， due to obesity， has other recognised medical issues\".

If the judges decide it is a disability then employers could face new obligations， she told the BBC.

Employers might in future have a duty to create reserved car parking spaces for obese staff， or adjust the office furniture for them， she said.

The judges will have to decide whether obesity is covered under the EU's Employment Equality Directive， which outlaws job discrimination on grounds of disability.

歐盟最高法院或?qū)⒎逝至腥霘埣玻鹨蚴堑湹囊晃粌和Ｓ龁T起訴雇主因?yàn)榉逝謫栴}將其解雇。法院的最終裁決將在整個歐盟具有約束力，而因歐洲及其他地區(qū)肥胖率的不斷上升，判決結(jié)果也顯得尤為重要。事件當(dāng)事人表示如果肥胖對于勝任工作沒有影響，那雇主就不能因此而解雇員工。是否將肥胖列入殘疾需要考慮肥胖本身應(yīng)獲得相關(guān)權(quán)利還是因肥胖導(dǎo)致疾病后才可獲權(quán)。法官將決定是否將肥胖列入歐盟就業(yè)平等指令，一旦列入，雇主將面臨更多責(zé)任。

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-27809242]