Mayor Eric Adams recently signed into law a groundbreaking legislation banning weight discrimination in New York City. This law is aimed at preventing discrimination based on a person's weight. The new law adds weight and height to the list of protected characteristics, which currently includes race, gender, age, religion, and sexual orientation, to name a few and will have a wide-ranging impact on employment, housing, and access to public accommodations.
At a minimum, if you are a business owner, you should consider updating your employment manual to expressly include weight and height as protected categories. Employers should also include discussions of these protections in any training they have planned this year. Additionally, all applications for employment or housing should be carefully reviewed in order to ensure compliance.
The attorneys at Outside Legal Counsel LLP can help with updates to employment manuals, application materials and conducting training. Please reach out to us for more information about our services and how we can help.
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