Vermont bill would protect people with obesity, ethnic hair styles from discrimination

By Guy Page

A bill introduced Friday into the Vermont Senate would ban discrimination on the basis of weight and ethnic hair styling.

S23, sponsored by Sen. Ruth Hardy (D-Addison) and co-sponsored by six others, would “prohibit discrimination and harassment based on hair types and styles associated with a  particular race and on the basis of weight.”

The bill amends current public accommodations and fair housing laws by adding weight and/or hair to such anti-discrimination categories as race, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, marital status, religious creed, color, national origin, weight, or disability.

A VDC email asking Sen. Hardy about known instances of anti-weight and anti-ethnic hair discrimination in Vermont has not yet been returned. 

Obesity Action Coalition (“People living with obesity deserve to have their stories told, and OAC fights to ensure those stories are told with dignity and respect”) has a Vermont fact sheet stating that Vermont is 47th in obesity. A New York group called the Council on Size and Weight Discrimination (“Working to end discrimination against people who are heavier than average”) also offers resources. 

The co-sponsors are Sens. Martine Gulick, Andrew Perchlik, Kesha Ram Hinsdale, Tanya Vyhovsky, Anne Watson, and Rebecca White. It has been referred to the Economic Development, Housing and General Affairs Committee, chaired by Ram Hinsdale. 

For a complete listing of all 2023 Senate bills, see Vermont Senate Bills, part of the Vermont Daily Chronicle Toolbox for Following and Influencing the Legislature.