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Obesity can be considered a disability if it hinders job performance, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday in a case with broad implications for employers across the 28-nation European Union.

Although no EU law specifically prohibits discrimination on the basis of weight, obesity could be considered a physical disability in need of accommodation by the employer if it "hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers," the Luxembourg-based high court ruled.

The case was brought by a Danish child-care worker, Karsten Kaltoft, who weighed more than 350 pounds during his 15 years of employment with the city of Billund. He filed suit against the local government alleging he was discriminated against because of his size, although the child-care agency said his dismissal was necessary because of a drop in the number of children enrolled in its program.

By classifying obesity as a disability in certain conditions, the court whose rulings are binding for all European Union countries raised the prospect of employers being obligated to make available larger desks, wider doorways and closer parking spaces to accommodate those whose weight limits their mobility and comfortable work environment, labor law experts told European media.

"This has opened a can of worms for all employers in this country," Tam Fry, spokesman for Britain's National Obesity Forum, a healthcare group, told the Daily Mail.

He said it would require furniture and facilities adjustments to accommodate obese workers and could lead to "friction in the workplace between obese people and other workers."

World Health Organizations figures suggest about 20% of European men and 23% of women are obese, posing a considerable burden on employers to invest in disability accommodations.

The ruling was expected to be challenged by some European Union member states.

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European court rules obesity can be considered a disability

LUXEMBOURG, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Obese individuals in the European Union are now able to sue their employers if their weight contributed to discipline or firing, as the E.U.'s highest court issued a binding ruling Wednesday classifying obesity as a disability.

"[Obesity] falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers," ruled the E.U. Court of Justice in Luxembourg on Wednesday.

The ruling was issued in regard to the case of Karsten Kaltoft. Kaltoft sued the town of Billund, Denmark, claiming the 2010 decision to fire him from his public sector job was made because he is fat. Weighing no less than 353 pounds for the duration of his employment and with BMI of 54, Kaltoft is medically obese.

Kaltof sued his former employer in Danish court, who in turn asked the EJC to clarify the E.U.'s legal position on obesity. A ruling in Katlof's specific case has not been issued.

For his part, Katlof does not feel he is disabled, rather he wants justice for his allegedly undeserved firing.

"I don't see myself as disabled," Katolf told BBC News.

"It's not OK just to fire a person because they're fat, if they're doing their job properly."

2014 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

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European Union's highest court rules obesity is a disability

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the draft agreement on the accession of the European Union to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) is not compatible with EU law. The ruling deals a blow to efforts to make the Union accede to the ECHR as the Lisbon Treaty requires.

The ruling was announced yesterday (18 December) by the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Asked to comment, the Commission said it would first need to study its legal arguments.

All 28 members of the European Union (EU) are also members of the 47-nation Council of Europe (CoE) and as such are bound by the CoEs European Convention on Human Rights

The Lisbon Treaty committed the EU as a whole to signing up to the convention, alongside its 28 member states and 19 other European countries including Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, for example which are not members of the EU

Currently, individuals cannot challenge EU laws and practices at the European Court of Human Rights in the same way that they can challenge national laws and practices

However, individual EU member states can be and have been held accountable in Strasbourg for putting into practice decisions agreed at the EU level

The Lisbon Treaty also provided the EU with its own Charter of Fundamental Rights, overseen by the CJEU, which is now dealing with a growing number of cases relating to fundamental rights in EU countries

The EUs accession to the ECHR is expected to address these issues, creating a single, comprehensive and coherent legal framework for protecting human rights across the continent.

Following almost three years of technical discussions, a draft agreement was finalised bynegotiators from the 47 Council of Europe countries and the EU Commission in April 2013.

In July 2013, the European Commission asked the CJEU for an opinion as to whether the draft agreement is compatible with the EU treaties.

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Court of Justice rejects draft agreement of EU accession to ECHR

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