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January 1, 2012

TREND: The Cutting Edges of Human Resource Management

By Kennedy Maize

Keeping up with what's going on in the field of human resource management-once upon a time, we called it "personnel management," but I guess that sounds too impersonal these days-is never easy. But today, negotiating the intricacies of picking, managing, nurturing, and saying goodbye to the folks who work with us can get positively head-scratching. To wit . . .

Obesity

Many public health experts point to obesity as a growing problem in America, including in the workforce. Carrying around too much bulk can contribute to heart disease and diabetes and limit mobility, say the experts. So does obesity, however defined, constitute a workplace disability? That's an important question, both for determinations of whether an employee is entitled to disability benefits under state and federal law, and for determining whether obesity falls under the protections in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

These, notes the law firm of McGuire Woods, are "unsettled questions." The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued BAE Systems, a Virginia military contractor, for firing an employee described as "morbidly obese." Obesity, said the commission, is covered by the ADA. So far, federal courts are split, with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals rejecting the linkage, but a federal district court in another jurisdiction upholding a link between obesity and disability. Says McGuire Woods: "The bottom line is that employers should proceed with caution when making disciplinary or termination decisions on the basis of obesity."