What causes employers to engage in lifestyle discrimination?
The driving force behind this trend is economics, in particular the rising cost of health care benefits provided by employers. Health care costs for employers are increasing almost three times as fast as inflation. Several factors are contributing to the high cost of health insurance, but the only factor employers have substantial control over is their employees. Under the pressure of economic considerations, employers may very well try to regulate every health-related aspect of their employees’ lives, including diet, hobbies, sleep habits and even childbearing. Q: Who is affected by lifestyle discrimination? A: Several groups have been targeted by employers and subjected to discriminatory practices, both on the job and during pre-employment screening. Those most frequently discriminated against are smokers and people who are overweight. A 1988 survey taken by the Administrative Management Society revealed that six percent of employers (about 6,000 companies) were discriminating agains
