“We all deserve the same access to employment, housing and public accommodations, regardless of our appearance,” Mayor Eric Adams said during a signing ceremony May 26. “It shouldn’t matter how tall you are or how much you weigh.”
The new law does allow for exemptions for employers where height or weight are considered essential for a job. New York City joins a few other cities that have passed similar legislation including Urbana, Illinois; Madison, Wisconsin; Binghamton, New York; San Francisco; Santa Cruz, California; and Washington, D.C. Michigan and Washington state have such laws and Massachusetts and New Jersey are considering this kind of legislation.