Fashion models are autonomous
Models are subject to different rules. Therefore it is much harder to submit to regulations and attempting to can turn into a legal battle.
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The Argument
There are certain countries with regulated BMI standards for their models. However, while the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration can monitor the safety of modeling agencies, this would be in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Turning away someone from a position because of a disability, which includes anorexia nervosa, is against the law. People can fall below a certain BMI and still be considered healthy.
They also cannot discriminate against body type, which would be an issue if they placed regulations on BMI.[1] Fashion models also do not have to follow the same rules as regularly employed people because they are contracted through agencies and are not required to perform in certain shows or designs.
Counter arguments
OSHA cannot monitor independently contracted employees because they do not fall under a specific company. They are their employers, so they cannot follow the same rules. There are work-a-rounds to this rule, and that is that individual agencies would need to create rules that only allow models with a BMI above a certain number are allowed to participate. This would require an alteration to the OSHA rules and the Americans with Disability Act .
Premises
[P1] OSHA monitors workplace violations and dangerous environments, but models are independently contracted.
[P2] Turning away someone with a disability, according to the Americans with Disability Act, is against the law.
[P3] People can fall below a standard BMI and still be considered healthy based on their ancestry and health conditions unrelated to eating disorders.
[P4] Models can choose whether or not to participate in a show.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] OSHA cannot monitor fashion models because they do not work for one specific company.