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Fag og Arbejde v. Kommunernes Landsforening (CJEU)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer
Krista Nadakavukaren Schefer*
Affiliation:
University of Basel, Switzerland
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Extract

On December 18, 2014, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU or the Court) issued its judgment of the case Fag og Arbejde (FOA) v. Kommunernes Landsforening (KL).1 The CJEU’s decision is notable for being the first in which the Court directly rules on the question of whether discrimination based on body weight is prohibited under European law. Finding that there is no general prohibition on obesity discrimination in the employment context, the Court of Justice of the European Union nevertheless considers that in some cases, obesity can be a cause of disability. As a result, unequal treatment of obese persons could be a violation of the protections of non-discrimination enjoyed by persons with disabilities.

Type
International Legal Materials
Information
International Legal Materials , Volume 54 , Issue 4 , August 2015 , pp. 735 - 746
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2015

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References

* This text was reproduced and reformatted from the text available at the Court of Justice of the European Union (visited July 16, 2015), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=160935&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=190416.

1 Case C-354/13, Fag og Arbejde (FOA), acting on behalf of Karsten Kaltoft v. Kommunernes Landsforening,acting on behalf of the Municipality of Billund (KL) (Dec. 18, 2014), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?docid=160935&doclang=EN [hereinafter Decision]. Karsten Kaltoft’s union, the FOA, represented their member in his dispute with his employer, the Danish town of Billund, in the municipality of Landsforening.

2 Id. ¶ 17.

3 Id. ¶ 25.

4 BMI is calculated using weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters. Kaltoft’s height was 1.72 meters and his weight was reportedly never under 160 kg. Case C-354/13, Opinion of Advocate General Jääskinen, ¶ 2 (July 17, 2014), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=155125&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=req&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=346370.

5 See id.

6 The CJEU specifically looked to TFEU Articles 10 and 19. Article 10 TFEU states: “In defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.” Article 19.1 TFEU grants the Council the competence to legislate: “1. Without prejudice to the other provisions of the Treaties and within the limits of the powers conferred by them upon the Union, the Council, . . . may take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation.” Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Oct. 26, 2012, 55 O.J. 47.

7 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 21.1, Oct. 26, 2012, 55 O.J. 391 (emphasis added).

8 See C-617/10,Ȧklagare v.Ȧckerberg Fransson, ¶¶ 21–22 (Feb. 26, 2013), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=134202&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=352289.

9 See Decision, supra note 1, ¶ 53. The Court refers to C-476/11, HK Danmark v. Experian (Sept. 26, 2013), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=142214&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=354059; Case C-363/12, Z. v. A Government Department (Mar. 18, 2014), http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=149388&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=353937; Case C-356/12, Glatzel v. Bayern (May 22, 2014),http://curia.europa.eu/juris/document/document.jsf?text=&docid=152650&pageIndex=0&doclang=en&mode=lst&dir=&occ=first&part=1&cid=353807.

10 Decision, supra note 1, ¶ 53.

11 Id. ¶ 54.

12 Id. ¶ 56.

13 Id. ¶ 59.

14 Id. ¶ 58.

15 Id. ¶¶ 61–62.

16 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Dec. 13, 2006, 2515 U.N.T.S. 3.