The issue is whether a federal statute generally requiring federal firefighters to retire at age 55 establishes, as a matter of law, that age 55 is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) for nonfederal firefighters within the meaning of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, 81 Stat. 602, as amended, 29 U.S.C. § 621 et seq ...
625.1 Introduction-. In §703(e)(1), [1] Title VII provides an exception to its prohibition of discrimination based on sex, religion, or national origin. That exception, called the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), recognizes that in some extremely rare instances a person's sex, religion, or national origin may be reasonably necessary to carrying out a particular job function in the ...
The Court's narrow interpretation of the BFOQ defense in this case, however, means that an employer cannot exclude even pregnant women from an environment highly toxic to their fetuses. It is foolish to think that Congress intended such a result, and neither the language of the BFOQ exception nor our cases require it. 8 [499 U.S. 187, 220] II
In enacting the BFOQ standard, "Congress did not ignore the public interest in safety." Criswell, supra, at 419. The Court's narrow interpretation of the BFOQ defense in this case, however, means that an employer cannot exclude even pregnant women from an environment highly toxic to their fetuses. It is foolish to think that Congress intended ...
[p293] MEMORANDUM ORDER. This case presents the important question whether femininity, or more accurately female sex appeal, is a bona fide occupational qualification ("BFOQ") for the jobs of flight attendant and ticket agent with Southwest Airlines.Plaintiff Gregory Wilson and the class of over 100 male job applicants he represents have challenged Southwest's open refusal to hire males as a ...
BFOQ Examples. There are cases where safety becomes a concern, and when it does, it may be a BFOQ to have someone of a given class in the job. Imagine, for example, someone who is supervising kids in a women’s locker room. That may be a job that has a genuine BFOQ, allowing the employer to only hire a woman. The safety of the employee matters ...
A survey of Title VII case law reveals that courts most frequently deem sex a proper BFOQ when the gender of employees impacts the safety or privacy interests of the business’s audience. 27 Courts are least likely to find sex is an appropriate BFOQ when the promotion of sex appeal is tangential to the sex-neutral essence of a business. 28
Definition of Bona Fide Occupational Qualification. Noun. A valid defense to otherwise recognized discrimination such as mandatory retirement at a certain age for airline pilots, for safety reasons, or a religious school requiring its principal or deans to be members of its religious sect. ... One such case involved Southwest Airlines and more ...
Under 29 U.S.C. § 623(f)(1) an employer may take action that would otherwise be prohibited where "age is a bona fide occupational qualification [(‘BFOQ’)] reasonably necessary to the normal operation of the particular business." The BFOQ defense is also available in Title VII cases, and the same standard applies.
In a recent case filed by the EEOC against a “gentlemen’s club,” this issue was brought to light. Understanding the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification defense. In employment discrimination law there is a defense that employers may raise known as the BFOQ defense, which stands for Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.
The Court's narrow interpretation of the BFOQ defense in this case, however, means that an employer cannot exclude even pregnant women from an environment highly toxic to their fetuses. It is foolish to think that Congress intended such a result, and neither the language of the BFOQ exception nor our cases require it. [Footnote 2/8] Page 499 U ...
of a systemic disparate treatment case, the Supreme Court’s approach was the more logically coherent analysis. Because student demographics of a ... is considered in the context of the bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) exemption and the possible impact that demographic convergence
The Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) Defense in Employment Discrimination: A Narrow and Limited Justification Exception. Cavico, Frank J; ... Summit County, Ohio, 2012, p. 16). Actually, the leading BFOQ prison case is an older Supreme Court case, Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977), where the court upheld a BFOQ prohibiting women from ...
the bona fide occupational qualification exception"); Cheatwood v. Southern Bell Tel. & Tel. Co., 303 F. Supp. 754, 758-59 (M.D. Ala. 1969) (court rejected BFOQ defense, even though there was evidence that some of the physical requirements of the job were such that many women could not manage it). 18. Ostapowicz v.
A bona fide occupational qualification or BFOQ is an affirmative defense to discrimination prima facie.Bona fide occupational qualifications can be made for national origin, religion, and sex. 42 U.S. Code § 2000e-2 allows for an employer to discriminate against employees and potential employees "on the basis of his religion, sex, or national origin in those certain instances where religion ...
Bona Fide Occupational Qualification. A bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ) defense, in particular, “is a legally sanctioned exception from the general obligation of employers to evaluate each job seeker or employee on individual qualifications” (Schachter, 2013). ... BFOQ Case. The BFOQ defense was first used in legal proceedings ...
The bona fide occupational qualification exception (BFOQ) is very narrowly tailored. The EEOC only permits employers to claim the exception if they show business necessity. ... Religious discrimination is the easiest way to describe the BFOQ exception. But, most case law is in the gender discrimination field. The many exception requests shot ...
However, if an employer can prove there is a physical or mental requirement for a job that is a bona fide occupational qualification (BFOQ), they can discriminate. Consider the following two cases. In Schor v St. Francis Hospital , 111 AD2d 852 (2d Dept. 1985) a Poughkeepsie NY hospital rejected an employment application for a nurse’s ...
