A new city law making it illegal to discriminate against someone because of their height or weight went into effect last week, six months after Mayor Eric Adams signed the bill into law.
The law adds the two categories to the list of characteristics protected from discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations – alongside things like age, gender, race, religion and sexual orientation, according to the New York Times.
“All New Yorkers, regardless of body shape or size, deserve to be protected from discrimination under the law,” NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and Councilman Shaun Abreu said in a joint statement on Sunday.
“Discrimination based on body size affects millions of people every year, contributing to harmful disparities in medical treatment and outcomes, blocking access to opportunities in employment, housing and public accommodations, and deepening existing injustices that people face,” the statement continued.
“New York City is leading the nation with this groundbreaking anti-discrimination law.”
The City Council approved the bill in May.
Mayor Eric Adams signed it into law the same month, saying that heavier people shouldn’t be treated differently when applying for a job, according to the Times.
“Science has shown that body type has nothing to do with whether you’re healthy or unhealthy,” said Adams, who wrote a book about losing 35 pounds in 2020. “I think that’s a misconception that we’re really dispelling.”
At a City Council hearing earlier this year, several New Yorkers testified about the harmful effects of weight discrimination on them, the newspaper said.
An NYU student said classroom desks were too small for her, while a Metropolitan Opera singer said she’d been body-shamed and nearly developed an eating disorder.
Lawmakers in New Jersey and Massachusetts are considering similar measures, while places like Michigan and Washington State have already passed anti-discrimination laws.
Abreu, who sponsored the New York bill, said it would raise awareness and protect people from employer bias.
“It’s also about changing the culture of how we think about weight,” said the councilman, who told the Times that he himself was treated differently after gaining weight during the pandemic.
The city’s Human Rights Commission will investigate any complaints of weight discrimination.
About 42 percent of American adults are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.