In a case concerning a Danish worker blaming his employer for firing him because he was obese, and therefore discriminating against his disability, Advocate General Niilo Jääskinen suggests that the Court answers that EU law doesn’t ban employers from discriminating on the grounds of obesity but not when it is severe and therefore amounts to a disability. In this case, the plaintiff can claim discrimination on these grounds.
The plaintiff claims that his employer, a Danish municipality, terminated his contract as a childminder due to his obesity, and that this amounted to discrimination on grounds of disability. Indeed, Directive 2000/78 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation prohibits any discrimination on grounds of disability. The case was subject to a prejudicial question: can obesity be considered as a disability protected by Directive 2000/78, and, if so, in which ca
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