New York City Mayor Eric Adams signed a bill Friday that would ban discrimination based on body size by adding weight and height to the list of protected categories such as race, sex and religion.
“All of us should have the same opportunity to find work, housing and accommodation for all people, regardless of our appearance, and it doesn’t matter how tall or how heavy you are,” said the mayor, who joined other elected officials and fat people. -officials at the City Hall bill signing ceremony.
Adams, a Democrat himself published a book The bill said the law “will help all New Yorkers to manage their diabetes through a plant-based diet, and to ensure that all New Yorkers have access to work and housing, and that they are protected from discrimination.”
Maintenance under this law, which is The city council has passed this month, include cases where a person’s height or weight may prevent them from performing essential work tasks.
Some business leaders opposed the bill while it was before the council, arguing that compliance would be too burdensome.
“The magnitude of the impact and cost of this law has not been fully considered,” Kathy Wylde, president and CEO of the Partnership for New York City, said in a statement.
Several other US cities have banned discrimination based on weight and body shape, including San Francisco, Washington, DC, and Madison, Wisconsin. And laws against weight and height discrimination have been enacted in states including New Jersey and Massachusetts.
Tigress Osborn, chairwoman of the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance, said the ban on discrimination in New York City should be an example for the country and the world.
Osborn said the city’s adoption of the new law is “universal” and shows that “discriminating against people based on their body size is wrong and something we can change.”
The law will take effect in 180 days, on Nov. 22.