A new city law that bans discriminating against someone because of their height or weight went into effect last week, six months after Mayor Eric Adams first signed the legislation.
The law adds those two categories to the list of characteristics that are protected from housing, job and public discrimination — alongside things like age, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation, according to the New York Times.
“All New Yorkers, regardless of their body shape or size, deserve to be protected from discrimination under the law,” NYC City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilman Shaun Abreu said in a joint statement Sunday.
“Body size discrimination affects millions of people every year, contributing to harmful disparities in medical treatment and outcomes, blocking people from access to opportunities in employment, housing and public accommodations, and deepening existing injustices that people face,” the statement added.
“New York City is leading the nation with this groundbreaking anti-discrimination law.”
The City Council approved the bill back in May.
Mayor Eric Adams signed it into law the same month, saying that heavier people should not be treated differently when they’re applying for a job, the Times said.
“Science has shown that body type is not a connection to if you’re healthy or unhealthy,” said Adams, who authored a 2020 book about losing 35 pounds. “I think that’s a misnomer that we’re really dispelling.”
At a city council hearing earlier this year, several New Yorkers testified about the deleterious effects weight discrimination had upon them, the newspaper said.
For instance, one NYU student said classroom desks were too small for her, while a Metropolitan Opera singer said she’d been body-shamed and had nearly developed an eating disorder.
Lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts are considering similar measures, while places like Michigan and Washington State have already enacted discrimination bans.
Abreu, who sponsored the NYC bill, said it would raise awareness and protect people against employer bias.
“It’s also about changing the culture in how we think about weight,” said the councilman, who told the Times that he himself was treated differently after he gained weight during the pandemic.
The city’s Commission on Human Rights will investigate any complaints about weight discrimination.
About 42 percent of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.