Orange County Employment Attorney

Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications (BFOQ)

Discrimination in the workplace based on race, sex, religion, and national origin is an illegal and immoral act. However, the law does cover certain exceptions to the rule when an employer can prove through a rational and legitimate method that preference for a certain type of worker is necessary to the success of the business or for public safety reasons.

If an employer can demonstrate the necessity of a BFOQ to the success of the business and prove differing qualifications based on this characteristic, they can legally employ workers based on this variable. Examples include a church hiring clergy members only of a certain denomination or a clothing maker hiring only models of a certain sex for which they manufacture clothes. However, if the same church used religious denomination as a characteristic for hiring cleaning personnel, this would not be a legitimate BFOQ, as religion has no effect on job performance of this type.

Limitations to BFOQ include discrimination based on arbitrary or unproven bases. Hiring women only because female workers are perceived to be more nurturing and caring than their male counterparts is not acceptable. Employers choosing only to hire men or men of a certain racial group, because they are thought to be more aggressive or athletic, is another example of an illegitimate bona fide occupational qualification.

If you have been discriminated against because of an illegal bona fide occupational claim, contact the experienced Orange County employment lawyers of Perry Smith today at 888.356.2529.