Obesity Needs Physiological Link for Texas Job Disability Suits

Workers in Texas need to connect obesity to an underlying physiological disorder or cause to sue for disability discrimination under state law.

That includes cases where it’s alleged that the worker wasn’t actually disabled, but was just perceived to be disabled because of their obesity or morbid obesity, the Texas Supreme Court said. The Friday ruling is consistent with decisions by four federal circuits on the question under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the divided opinion said.

At issue was whether Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center in El Paso was wrongly denied dismissal of a Texas Commission on Human ...