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Firm did not violate federal disability law by not hiring obese worker

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Firm did not violate federal disability law by not hiring obese worker

An employer did not violate the federal Americans with Disabilities Act when it rescinded a job offer to a man who was considered too obese to qualify for work under the company's employment policies, the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled.

Melvin Morriss was 5-foot-10, weighed 285 pounds and had a body mass index of 40.9 when he was conditionally offered a machinist position by Fort Worth, Texas-based BNSF Railway Co. in 2011, court records show. BNSF revoked the job offer after Mr. Morriss underwent two medical examinations, which showed that his BMI exceeded a company policy preventing people with a BMI over 40 from being hired for safety-sensitive positions.

Mr. Morriss filed a lawsuit in early 2013 against the railway stating they discriminated against him and that his obesity was a disability. An Omaha, Nebraska, District Court judge granted summary judgment in favor of BNSF, finding that Mr. Morriss would need to prove that he also had a physiological disorder or other condition that caused his obesity in order for his condition to be considered a physical impairment.

On appeal, Mr. Morriss said his weight alone was a disability under the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which does not allow discrimination by an employer for a qualified individual who has a disability.

A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit appeals court unanimously upheld the lower court ruling on April 5. In its ruling, the court agreed that in order for weight to be considered a physical impairment, it has to be “the result of an underlying physiological disorder to qualify as a physical impairment under the ADA.”

Mr. Morriss argued in court filings that his obesity is a physical impairment because it is severe and morbid. However, the circuit court noted that records of Mr. Morriss' pre-employment medical examinations showed that he was not suffering from any additional physical impairment.

Additionally, the court found that BNSF did not discriminate against Mr. Morriss because the company did not consider his weight to be a disability, even though it exceeded the company's employment criteria.

“Morriss did not produce evidence that BNSF perceived his obesity to be an existing physical impairment — in fact, the questionnaire and treatment records that Morriss and his doctor provided to BNSF notified the company that Morriss was not suffering from any physical impairment,” the ruling reads. “The physical examinations conducted by BNSF revealed that Morriss's BMI exceeded BNSF's internal limits for safety-sensitive positions, but those examinations did not reveal that Morriss had a physical impairment.”

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