8/13/2019 BFOQ

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Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Law & Legal Definition

Bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ) are employment qualifications

that employers are allowed to consider while making decisions about hiring and

retention of employees. The qualification should relate to an essential ob duty and is

considered necessary for operation of the particular business.

The Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications rule allows for the hiring of indi!iduals

based on race" se#" age" and national origin if these characteristics are bona fide

occupational qualifications. This is an e#ception and complete defense to Title $%% of

the &i!il 'ights ct of *+, which protects employees from discrimination based on

religion" se#" age" national origin and color at the workplace.

%n order to establish the defense of bona fide occupational qualification" an employer

must pro!e the requirement is necessary to the success of the business and that adefinable group or class of employees would be unable to perform the ob safely and

efficiently. n employer should demonstrate a necessity for a certain type of workers

because all others do not ha!e certain characteristics necessary for employment

success. -owe!er the employers moti!ation for e#cluding the protected class is not

significant in e!aluating the BFOQ defense. The inquiry focuses on the necessity of

using an e#pressly forbidden classification.

/#amples of BFOQs are0 mandatory retirement ages for bus dri!ers and airplane

pilots for safety reasons" churches requiring members of its clergy to be of a certain

denomination and may lawfully bar" from employment" anyone who is not a

member.-owe!er" for positions at a church such as anitors" discrimination based onreligious denomination would be illegal because religion has no effect on a persons

ability to fulfill the duties of the ob. Other e#amples of bona fide occupation

qualifications include the use of models and actors for the purpose of authenticity or

genuineness" the requirement of emergency personnel to be bilingual" udged on

language competency" not national origin.

/#ample of a 1tatute in %llinois mentioning Bona fide occupational qualification

223 %4&1 35678, 9 %llinois -uman rights ct" rticle 6 /mployment: /#emptions

1ec. 678,. /#emptions. () ;othing contained in this ct shall prohibit an employer"employment agency or labor organi