And whilw I may agree that racial discrimination is a more severe and hurtful policy than discrimination on the basis of weight, I think the underlying principle is that employers should not discriminate against job applicants on the basis of a quality that has no impact on job performance, like most disabilities, race, or gender. Now we even protect some classes whose qualities obviously impact job performance – age, speaking accent, marital status, some mental illness, etc.

There, you can say I’m a propagandist against those things. Now, let you go be turned down for employment if your blood sodium is higher than mine.

Subtle vegetarian trolling.

Likewise, however, it is irrational to discriminate against the overweight in jobs where physical ability IS NOT A FACTOR. Studies have proven that it is hader for the overweight to get jobs even where weight is unimportant. For this reason, I agree with this law.

Recently, insurance companied have been trying to charge employers more for hiring overweight people. I expect a lot of the readers of this blog to applaud this move. OK. As long as you are forced to pay extra for YOUR chosen “risky” behaviors. Don’t eat 20 oz of vegetables a day? $2000 more for insurance per year. You still eat meat? $2000 more. RED meat? $2000 further. Do you have sex? All sex carries some risk of disease. $2000 more, and another $2000 more if any of it exchanges fluids or involves skin contact not protected by latex.

Why only the horizontally expansive? As a thin person, I need some personal space. Allowing only those people whose bodies actually take up the extra space to sue would discriminate unfairly against thin people.

It’s true that federal courts have moved toward somewhat more pro-employer interpretations in the years since then, but it’s also true that Congress has lately been moving once again to liberalize the employment-discrimination laws to allow more suits, higher damages, etc. If an applicant in Binghamton has any case based specifically on obesity as a directly protected class, it will presumably have to go forward under some provision of New York state law.