(i) Get a list of their names and an indication of how they are affected. The employer, if it wants to retain the requirements, must show that they constitute a business Example (3) - Partial Processing Indicated - CPs, female restaurant employees, file a charge alleging that they are being discriminated against by R since it requires that all of its employees maintain the proper weight in In terms of disparate treatment, the airlines' practice of more frequently and more severely disciplining females, as compared to males, for violating maximum weight restrictions was found to violate Title VII. Commission Decision No. Examples 2 and 4 above processing should continue. 76-31, CCH Employment Practices Guide 6624, the Commission found no evidence of adverse impact against females with respect to a bare unsupported allegation of job denial based on sex, because of a minimum height The Commission also The following table of height and weight is to be adhered to in all instances except where a particularly unusual situation is found and is documented by a special report of the examining physician. concerned with public preference in such jobs, the males and females are similarly situated. officer. A lock ( prohibited sex discrimination. Close A related body of scholarship also suggests that, on average, female police officers are more adept at avoiding violent confrontations in the first instance. CPs, information only on official, secure websites. . Title VII was intended to remove or eliminate. (ii) Four-Fifths Rule - It may not be appropriate in many instances to use the 4/5ths or 80% rule, which is a general rule of thumb or guide for determining whether there is evidence of adverse determine if there is evidence of adverse impact. *See for example the information contained in the vital health statistics in Appendix I which shows differences in national height and weight averages based on sex, age, and (BMI calculator says you are underweight). R alleges that its concern for the The respondent can either establish a uniform height requirement that does not have an adverse impact based on race, sex, or strength necessary to successfully perform the job. who were over 6'5" and that R employed White pilots who exceeded the maximum height. Also, there was no evidence of disparate treatment. In Commission Decision No. The EOS can rely on a traditional disparate treatment analysis such as that suggested in 604, Theories of Discrimination, to solve these problems. The first female police officer. R defended on the ground that the weight requirement constituted a business necessity because heavier people are physically stronger. 1980), and Vanguard Justice Society Inc. v. Hughes, 471 F. Supp. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. (1) Secure a detailed statement delineating exactly what kind of height and weight requirements are being used and how they are being used. The court found as a matter of law that revealed that although only two out of 237 female flight attendants employed by R are Black, there is no statistical or other evidence indicating that Black females as a class weigh more than White females. 1980) (where a charge of Rawlinson, supra, however, agreed with the Commission's position and used national statistics to find that minimum height and weight requirements were discriminatory and that unsupported assertions about strength were inadequate to A police department minimum height requirement of 67 inches was found in Dothard v. Rawlinson (cited below) to preclude consideration of more group or class and not against others. CP, a Hispanic who failed the tests, alleges national origin discrimination in that Anglos are permitted to pass despite how they actually perform on the test. In terms of health concerns, at least where different charts are used potentially rendering compliance by females more difficult and a health hazard, reference should be made to Association of Flight Attendants v. Ozark Air Lines, 470 F. Hispanics from production jobs. 670, 20 EPD 30,077 (D.C. Md. 1976), "under no set of facts can plaintiff recover on the legal theory she urgesbecause weight is neither an immutable characteristic nor a Accord Horace v. City of Pontiac, 624 F.2d 765, 23 EPD 31,069 (6th Cir. These self-serving, subjective assertions did not constitute an adequate defense to the charge. 1982) (where a distinction is made as to treatment Example - R required that successful applicants for production jobs weigh at least 150 lbs. The reality of police work is that you are going to have to get physical with suspects, and you can't do that. height/weight chart. The employer's contention that the requirements Example (1) - R, police department, had a minimum 5'6" height requirement for police officer candidates. Harless v. Duck, 619 F.2d 611, 22 EPD 30,871 (6th Cir. requirement. In two charges previously To the extent reliable statistical studies are available, the comparison, depending on the facts of the case, should also be based on the height difference For a determination of whether the 4/5ths or 80% rule test, as opposed to the test of statistical or practical significance, can be used when dealing with height/weight requirements and a Cox v. Delta Air Lines, 14 EPD 7600 (S.D. Here are the requirements to become a commissioned Officer: Age: At least 17, but under 31 in the year of commissioning as an Officer. principle is applicable to charges involving maximum height requirements. plaintiff's legal theory was inadequate since weight is subject to one's control and not an unchangeable characteristic entitled to protection under Title VII. (b) The following information should be secured in documentary form, where available, from the respondent: (1) A written policy statement, or statement of practices involving use of height and weight requirements; (2) A breakdown of the employer's workforce showing protected Title VII status as it relates to use of height and weight requirements; (3) A statement of reasons or justifications for, or defenses to, use of height and weight requirements as they relate to actual job duties performed; (4) A determination of what the justification is based on, i.e., an outside evaluation, subjective assertions, observations of employees' job performance, etc. in discharge. (ii) If there are witnesses get their statements. Anglos testified that they were not aware of the existence of the physical ability/agility tests. In Commission Decision No. (See 604, Theories of Discrimination.) The court in Cox (cited below), when faced with the argument that statistically more women than men exceed permissible height/weight in proportion to body size standards, concluded that, even if this were true, there was no sex A police department minimum height requirement of 67 inches was found in Dothard v. Rawlinson (cited below) to preclude consideration of more females than males since the average height for females is 63 inches, and the average height for males is 68.2 inches. (See Example 4 below and Commission Decisions in 621.5(e).) 3 (November 19, 1976), and No. Education: A college graduate by the time you're . In this case, the height and weight characteristics vary based on the particular In that case, a Black female was rejected because she exceeded the maximum allowable hip size with respect to her height and weight. demonstrating that the height requirement resulted in the selection of applicants in a significantly discriminatory pattern, i.e., 87% of all women, as compared to 20% of all men, were excluded. Employees or applicants of employers that are recipients of federal contracts should contact the United States Department of For employment, an individual must complete the following in 3:52 or less: 1. If the charging party can establish a prima facie case of (See 621.1(b)(2)(i), above.) female and Chinese applicants rejected because they were under the minimum height, filed a charge against R alleging sex and national origin discrimination. The respondent must consider individual abilities and capabilities. Applicant flow data showing that large numbers of Hispanic applicants were hired was not determinative since many others were probably rejected because of the standard. This is because many court and administrative determinations have found that height and weight requirements Example (2) - Weight as Immutable Characteristic - R, an airline, has a policy under which flight attendant applicants are required to meet proportional height/weight requirements based on national charts. and minorities have been disproportionately excluded. differences in the selection or disqualification rate if the differences meet the test of being statistically or practically significant. (2) Adverse Impact Analysis - This approach is applicable where on its face a minimum height or weight requirement constitutes a neutral employment policy or practice that may be applied equally to For further guidance in analyzing charges of disparate treatment, the EOS should refer to 604, Theories of Discrimination. R's personnel take applicants to private rooms and independently administer and rate the tests. The requirement therefore was found to be discriminatory on the basis of sex. According to the United States Army official site for recruiting, the height range for recruits starts at 5'0 and ends at 6'8 for men and 4'10 to 6'8 for women. R was unable to refute the availability of less restrictive alternatives; therefore, the minimum height requirement was discriminatory. This guidance document was issued upon approval by vote of the U.S. Example (4) - Full Processing Indicated - CPs, Black female applicants for jobs at R's bank, allege that R discriminated against them by denying them employment because they exceeded the maximum weight limit allowed by R Flight attendants found in violation of the policy three times are discharged. Additionally, as height, as well as weight, problems in the extreme may potentially constitute a handicap, the EOS should be aware of the need to make charging parties or potential charging parties aware of their right to proceed under other By way of rebuttal, CPs argued that R could cure that problem by installing Most airlines require that its flight attendants not exceed a comparison purposes. The contents of this document do not have the force and effect of law and are not meant to bind the public in any way. Frequently Asked Questions. She alleged that only females were disciplined for exceeding the maximum weight limit, while similarly situated males were not. Height and Weight Qualifications Most police departments impose proportional weight-to-height restrictions on incoming recruits. The following are merely suggested areas of inquiry for the EOS to aid in his/her analysis and investigation of charges alleging discriminatory use of height and weight requirements. man of medium stature would therefore be permitted to weigh proportionally more than a 5'7" woman of medium stature on the same height/weight chart. Indeed, the between Asian women and White males, if they constitute the majority of the selectees. unanimously concluded that standards which allow women but not men to wear long hair do not violate Title VII. Members of the 155th trooper training class salute during . Maximum height requirements would, of course, Today, if you can pass the physical fitness/agility tests the agency requires, they don't Continue Reading 54 Chris Everett Gerdom v. Continental Air Lines Inc., 692 F.2d 602, 30 EPD 33,156 (9th Cir. The respondent's contention that the minimum requirements bore a relationship to strength was rejected outright since no supportive evidence was produced. resolve such charges and as a guide to drafting the LOD. True Courts have traditionally upheld the no-smoking policies in police departments. compared to less than 1% of the male population. The purpose of this study was to profile the current level of fitness for highway patrol officers based on age and . 79-25, CCH Employment Practices Guide 6752, the Commission found that a prima facie case of sex discrimination based on application of minimum height requirements was not rebutted by evidence that Like the above example and in Commission Decision Nos. Thereafter, the Court determined that the burden which shifted Therefore, a national statistical pool, as opposed to an actual applicant pool, should be used for Reasons for these minimum height standards are as varied as the employers, ranging from assumptions of public preferences for taller persons, to paternalistic notions regarding women, to assumptions that taller persons are physically Dothard Court emphasized that respondents cannot rely on unfounded, generalized assertions about strength to establish a business necessity defense for use of minimum weight requirements. In Commission Decision No. that the minimum weight requirement is a business necessity. 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