Weight
Discrimination Laws

Laws in Place

• Michigan is the only State with law prohibiting discrimination against overweight peopleEnacted in 1977. The Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination practices based on 10 categories, including weight.

Cities

• Washington, DC: the Human Rights Law includes “personal appearance” in its protected categories.
• San Francisco, CA: the Human Rights Commission added “weight and height” to the municipal code to ensure that pro-grams, services, and facilities would be accessible.
• Santa Cruz, CA: the municipal code on discrimination includes “height, weight, or physical characteristics” as protected categories.
• Binghamton, NY: the municipal code on discrimination includes “height, weight, or physical characteristics” as protected categories.
  
• Urbana, IL: the municipal code on discrimination includes “height, weight, or physical characteristics” as protected categories.
  
• Madison, WI: the municipal code on discrimination includes “height, weight, or physical characteristics” as protected categories.
  

Legislation Awaiting Action

• Nevada Bill AB166 awaiting action adds “Physical characteristic” which means any bodily condition or physical attribute of a person that is a result of birth, injury, disease or natural biological development, including, without limitation:
  (a) Height;
  (b) Weight; and
  (c) Physical mannerisms beyond the control of the person.