Essay

Essay
A. Essay Title: The European Court of Justice has recently ruled that obesity can be treated as a disability and that employers should make allowances for obese employees, as they do for other disabled staff, by law.  In the light of this judgement, consider the extent to which you agree that obesity should be treated as a disability.
B. Essay Outline     C. Proposed Sources:

Introduction:
–    Thesis statement: Despite the recent ruling of the European Court of Justice, obesity is a self-imposed condition and, absent medical evidence to the contrary, should not be treated as a disability.    –    Court of Justice of the European Union
PRESS RELEASE 112/14
–    www.bbc.com/news/health-30528781
–    http://jurist.org/paperchase/2014/12/european-court-of-justice-rules-obesity-can-be-a-disability.php
–    http://europeanlawblog.eu/?p=2741

Paragraph 1 thesis statement:
–    The ECJ has erred in its holding that obesity should be protected.
–    EU law does not name obesity as a protected status.

–    Opinion of Advocate General Jaaskinen, 17 July 2014, Case C-354/13

–    Directive 2000/78/ED – EUR-Lex – Europa (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32000L0078:en:HTML)

Paragraph 2 thesis statement:
–    Classifying obesity as a disability only serves to create confusion in the workplace.
Evidence:
–    Who decides?
–    Measure BMI?
–    Boon for lawyers?

-http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/hro/news/1148835/ecj-obesity-ruling-real-employers

– http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/spectator-surgery/2015/01/obesity-a-disability-only-human-right-lawyers-will-benefit-from-the-echrs-farcical-classification/

Paragraph 3 thesis statement:
–    Obesity is a self-imposed condition Evidence:
–    Obesity can easily be controlled by diet and exercise
–    There are legitimate medical illnesses, such as hypothyroidism, that cause obesity.

–    SERMO Physician Poll, January 2015

–    http://www.webmd.com/women/hypothyroidism-underactive-thyroid-symptoms-causes-treatments
–    http://www.twobirds.com/en/news/articles/2014/denmark/ecj-decision-obesity-does-not-provide-job-protection-but-can-be-qualified-as-a-disability

–    Nied,  and Franklin, 2002, p419

–    Breitlow, 2013
Paragraph 4 thesis statement (Counter-argument)
–    Obesity falls within the concept of disability as developed in other EU cases.
Evidence:
–    The Court used principles from the HK Danmark case Denmark from and the Z case from Ireland

– Joined Cases C-225/11 and C-337/11 (http://curia.europa.eu/juris/celex.jsf?celex=62011CJ0335&lang1=en&type=TXT&ancre=)

– Case C-363/12, 18 March 2014 (http://curia.europa.eu/juris/celex.jsf?celex=62012CJ0363&lang1=en&type=TXT&ancre=)

Conclusion
–    Absent a legitimate medical cause, obesity should not be considered a protected disability in the EU.