Case C-354/13, Kaltoft – employment equality for the obese [judgment 2014, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2463]

Does EU law prohibit employment discrimination on the ground of obesity?

Facts
Karsten Kaltoft was a child-minder who was employed by a local authority in Denmark. He had worked for them for a decade and a half. His employment was terminated. Had his obesity played a role? His union sued the employer. The court in Kolding, Denmark opted to make a reference to the CJEU.

Questions Referred
According to the Curia website, the Retten i Kolding has asked:

1. Is it contrary to EU law as expressed, for example, in Article 6 TEU concerning fundamental rights, generally or particularly for a public-sector employer to discriminate on grounds of obesity in the labour market?
2. If there is an EU prohibition of discrimination on grounds of obesity, is it directly applicable as between a Danish citizen and his employer, a public authority?
3. Should the Court find that there is a prohibition under EU law of discrimination on grounds of obesity in the labour market generally or in particular for public-sector employers, is the assessment as to whether action has been taken contrary to a potential prohibition of discrimination on grounds of obesity in that case to be conducted with a shared burden of proof, with the result that the actual implementation of the prohibition in cases where proof of such discrimination has been made out requires that the burden of proof be placed on the respondent/defendant employer (see recital 18 in the preamble to Council Directive 97/80/EC of 15 December 1997 on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex […] )?

4. Can obesity be deemed to be a handicap covered by the protection provided for in Council Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation […] and, if so, which criteria will be decisive for the assessment as to whether a person’s obesity means specifically that that person is protected by the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of handicap as laid down in that directive?