Elliot Spiegel sued Daniel “Tiger” Schulmann and UAK Management Co., claiming his weight got him fired as a karate instructor at the Tiger Schulmann Karate School in Stamford, Connecticut. Spiegel stated he has a medical condition called hypogonadism that prevents him from losing weight. He alleged invasion of privacy (based on Spiegel’s photos in a weight-loss advertisement), retaliation, and violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and state and city human rights laws.
The trial court dismissed the lawsuit entirely. On appeal, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals agreed that most of the case was meritless, including Spiegel’s bid for a different judge on remand. He argued that U.S. District Judge Sandra Townes was biased and “had undertaken to scour the record to find a basis for knocking out plaintiffs’ claims.”
However, the Second Circuit revived Spiegel’s claim that the karate school violated the New York City Human Rights Law barring employers from firing workers “because of an actual or perceived . . . disability” because no New York appellate court had yet addressed whether obesity alone could constitutes a disability the law.
For the full story, click here.
[...] This is an interesting post about an obesity discrimination case under the New York City Human Rights [...]
[...] This is an interesting post about an obesity discrimination case under the New York City Human Rights [...]