Obesity and Workers Compensation

A little while back we blogged the conundrum of smokers, whose habit, while not illegal, does impact their over-all health and their ability to recover from injuries (whether work related or not). Today we’ll look at obesity: another physical condition that can severely impact the recovery time of injured workers.

Obesity and Discrimination
As with smoking, obese individuals are generally not considered disabled, and thus are not explicitly protected by the 1964 Civil Rights Act or the more recent Americans with Disabilities Act. Only one state, Michigan, protects obese individuals from discrimination in employment. In all other states, it appears that employers can readily discriminate against obese people.

Advocates for the obese point out that such discrimination is common. Obese people face many obstacles in hiring, in promotion and in pay.

Slower Recovery
Writing in Risk & Insurance Magazine, our colleague Peter Rousmaniere explores some of obesity’s impact on the recovery of workers from work-related injuries. While it’s clear that obesity can have an adverse impact on the duration of disability, Rousmaniere finds that most claims adjusters fail to focus on the relationship of weight to recovery. Weight becomes a “wellness” issue that falls beyond the parameters of a specific injury. Doctors are more likely to be aware of it. For example, they might hesitate to perform knee replacement surgery on an individual whose weight might compromise the success of the operation.

Safety Hazards
Morbidly obese individuals face unanticipated safety hazards. For example, emergency exits and fire escapes may be inaccessible for a person weighing 300 plus pounds. The ability to navigate stairs under less than ideal conditions is likely to be very limited. There were a number of sad tales from the 9/11 disaster involving obese individuals unable to make it down the seemingly endless stairways of the World Trade Center Towers. In addition, it’s safe to assume that many obese people may lack the aerobic capacity required by emergency situations to beat a rapid path to safety.

Accent the Positive
We do not recommend discriminating against any class of people, whether they smoke or are obese. On the other hand, it is certainly fair for employers to promote and encourage wellness. If smokers want to quit, it’s in the employer’s best interests to help them. If obese people want help in losing weight, again, it’s in the employer’s best interests to help them.

It gets tricky – indeed reaches the level of a conundrum – when smokers are comfortable with their smoking and when obese people have no interest in changing their situation. Here, employers need to tread cautiously, but with the understanding that when smokers or obese individuals are injured on the job, their recoveries may be compromised by their situations. Disability may be prolonged. It may be more difficult to accommodate obese people on temporary modified duty. It is therefore all the more important to keep the lines of communication open and to make sure that every worker, regardless of their habits or physical condition, feels valued. If someone is good enough to hire and train, they are important enough to retain. Employers must never lose sight of this simple but compelling truth.