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UConn Study Finds Broad Support for Policies to Address Weight-Based Discrimination by Employers

  • Study out of UConn finds broad support for laws prohibiting employers from discriminating based on weight when hiring
  • Nearly four out of five support such measures
  • There is no national law against discrimination based on weight, and only one state-level law

Summary by Dirk Langeveld

There is broad public support for legislation to prevent employers from discriminating against job applicants due to their weight, according to recent research from the University of Connecticut.

A study from the UConn Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health found that 79 percent would support laws that make it illegal for employers to refuse to hire people because of their weight. There was also strong support for broader anti-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination in employment based on weight, with 61 percent in favor.

There is currently no national law against discrimination based on weight. Only one state, Michigan, has such a law.

The study, which included support from the commercial weight management program WW International Inc., collected 13,996 online survey responses from WW International members in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

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