New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill Friday to ban discrimination based on size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories such as race, gender and religion.
“We all have the right to equal access to employment, housing and public facilities regardless of our physical appearance, and height and weight should not matter,” the mayor said of other elected lawmakers. Said with the fat legislators. – Acceptance advocate at city hall bill signing ceremony.
Democrat Adams, who has published a book on improving diabetes with plant-based diets, said the ordinance would “level the playing field for all New Yorkers, create a more inclusive work and living environment, and protect against discrimination.” helpful,” he said.
Exemptions under the ordinance, which the city council passed this month, include cases where an individual’s height or weight may prevent them from performing essential functions at work.
Some business leaders voiced opposition to the bill when it went to the council, arguing that compliance could become a huge burden.
“The extent of the impact and costs of this bill has not been fully considered,” Kathy Wilde, president and CEO of the New York City Partnership, said in a statement.
Several other US cities, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Madison, Wisconsin, have banned discrimination based on weight and appearance. And states like New Jersey and Massachusetts have introduced laws banning weight and height discrimination.
Tigress Osborne, president of the National Association for the Promotion of Fat Acceptance, said New York City’s ban on weight discrimination should set an example for the nation and the world.
Osborne said the city’s adoption of the new ordinance “will have ripple effects around the world” and will show that “discriminating people based on their size is wrong and can be changed.”
The ordinance will go into effect 180 days later, on November 22nd.
