NEW YORK (AP) – New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed legislation Friday that would ban discrimination based on body size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories like race, gender and religion.
“We are all entitled to equal access to jobs, housing and public places, regardless of our appearance, and it doesn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh,” Mayer said. Fat’s acceptance at the signing ceremony at City Hall.
Adams, a Democrat who published a book on reversing diabetes through a plant-based diet, said the ordinance “will help level the playing field for all New Yorkers, create a more inclusive workplace and living environment, and protect against discrimination.
The ordinance’s exemptions, which the city council approved this month, include cases where a person’s height or weight may prevent him or her from performing the essential functions of a job.
Some business leaders expressed their opposition to the legislation, arguing that compliance could become an onerous burden.
“The scope of the impact and cost of this legislation has not been fully considered,” Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said in a statement.
Other cities in the United States, including San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and Madison, Wisconsin, also prohibit discrimination based on weight and physical appearance. And states like New Jersey and Massachusetts have launched initiatives to ban weight and height discrimination.
Tigress Osborne, president of the National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, said New York City’s ban on weight discrimination should serve as a model for the country and the world.
Osborne said the city’s adoption of the new ordinance would “resonate around the world” and show that “discriminating against people based on body size is wrong and we can change that.”
The ordinance will come into effect in 180 days from November 22.
