Weight Discrimination Legislation
Laws Making it Unlawful to Discriminate Based on Weight or Appearance
There are no federal laws making it illegal to discriminate against a person based on their weight. Michigan is the only state to make it illegal to discriminate on the basis of weight. The statute states that “the opportunity to obtain employment, housing and other real estate, and the full and equal utilization of public accommodations, public service, and education facilities without discrimination because of religion, race, color, national origin, age, sex, height, weight, familial status, or a civil right.” This is the Elliot-Larsen Civil Rights Act of 2000 and can be found at Michigan Statutes Annotated § 3.548(102) (Michie 2000).
The District of Columbia has a law that prohibits discrimination based on “personal appearance” but there are many exceptions to this law. San Francisco and Santa Cruz have city ordinances as well. See D.C. CODE ANN. § 2-1401.02 (2001); SAN FRANCISCO, CA., POLICE CODE art. 33 (2000); SANTA CRUZ, CA., MUNICIPAL CODE ch. 9.83 (1995).
Anti-Bullying Laws
State laws and local school policies address bullying but vary greatly across the country. There are no federal anti-bullying laws. For more information about state laws and anti-bullying resources and information, please see: http://www.bullypolice.org/