Global Breaking News - Sunday, December 22, 2024

Should Legislation Protect the Obese?
A recent Gallup survey of absenteeism among unhealthy American workers found that about 86 percent of full-time workers are above normal weight or have at least one chronic condition. The findings recall an eight-year study that Duke University researchers released several years ago finding that the most overweight workers had 13 times more lost workdays because of work-related injuries, and that their medical claims for those injuries were seven times more costly than those of their fit co-workers. Should it be illegal for businesses to discriminate against applicants who are obese, typically defined as 20 percent above the range of normal body weight or higher? Or is stronger legislation to protect against this type of bias the only answer?
* absenteeism = (합당한 사유 없는) 잦은 결석(결근)/ a chronic condition = 만성질환/ recall = 생각나게 하다/ medical claim = 의학(의료) 청구/ legislation = 제정법/ bias = 편견, 편향  

* The Problem With the ‘Disease’ Label
The view that we are in the midst of an obesity "epidemic" unwittingly may have given employers firmer grounds for penalizing fat workers or job applicants.

* Why the Overweight Earn Less
Evidence suggests that the wage penalty has nothing to do with lower productivity or higher health care costs and everything to do with discrimination.

* Expand Legal Safeguards
Existing disability discrimination and health privacy laws already prohibit explicit 'culling of the herd' and need stronger enforcement and should include weight discrimination.

* A Legal Buffer Already Exists
The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act prohibits employers from making decisions based on an employee's genetic history, which may include weight.

* What Employers Can Do
Churches should offer exercise classes; and employers should give insurance premium discounts for achieving health and fitness goals.