Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers who fail to meet the agency’s weight standards cannot argue that they are protected from disciplinary action under the Americans With Disabilities Act, a Federal appeals court ruled last month. The decision on Jan. 13 by a three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati upheld a Federal district court that previously had ruled in favor of the patrol and dismissed the troopers’ lawsuit. The case stemmed from a suit filed by 76 troopers who challenged a fitness program instituted by the patrol in 1992, which spelled out weight and appearance standards and disciplinary action against troopers who failed to measure up. |
