Now That’s a BFOQ!

I have to admit it, I watched some of the Royal Wedding this morning. Not a lot – just while I was on the treadmill – but enough. It was lovely and I wish William and Kate all the best. From a British perspective I understand all the hoopla, but I’m not sure why American’s have been as obsessed with the whole deal – but it’s over now. I did, however, have an ulterior motive. While I was watching I was looking for something that I could use in this blog, and I found it!

You all know that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (as amended) says that you can’t discriminate in employment due to any person’s membership in a protected class (age, sex, race, religion, etc.). But that’s not completely true. There are instances where discrimination is permitted. One of these exceptions is the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ). A BFOQ is a specific situation where to be effective, the employee must be of a specific gender, race, etc. and applicants who don’t meet that qualification may be automatically excluded, regardless of their other qualifications. Because of a BFOQ, a less qualified applicant who meets the BFOQ standard could be hired over a more qualified candidate who does not meet the standard.

For example, assume you run a high-end health club and you want to have attendants working in the locker rooms – passing out towels, cleaning up and assisting the members in some way. Clearly, you’d only want to have a female attendant working in the women’s locker room and similarly a male in the men’s locker room. In that situation, the gender of the applicant is a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification to be hired for that position.

So, while I was  wedding watching, the commentator was talking about the Footmen who attended to the coaches that William, Kate and others rode from Westminster Abby to Buckingham Palace. She said we should notice how they all looked about the same size and went on to explain that the Footman wear (I think she said) several-hundred year old uniforms that cost thousands of dollars each. Therefore, they don’t tailor the uniform to fit the Footman; instead, they only hire Footmen who can fit the uniform. These guys (yes all guys) are about 5’ 9” tall and have the same chest size.

Now that’s a BFOQ if I ever heard one.  I’m not sure it would fly in the United States – or even in Britain outside of the Royal family, but for this situation, it makes sense.  BFOQ’s are not common and I don’t encourage you to go looking for ways you could use that exclusion to do some discriminating, but the option is there.

All hail the future King and his bride – and thanks for help with a blog topic.

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Tags: Discrimination, Employee Relations, Employment, Hiring, HR, Legal Issues, Legislation, Management, Recruiting

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