N.Y. 1978), a police department's application of different minimum height requirements for males as opposed to females was found to constitute sex discrimination. (c) Adverse Impact in the Selection Process: 610. Where, however, the business necessity of a minimum height requirement for airline pilots and navigators is at issue, the matter is non-CDP, and the Office of Legal Counsel, Guidance Division should be contacted for assistance. (i) Get a list of their names and an indication of how they are affected. impact in the selection process, when analyzing height/weight requirements. Minimum height requirements can also result in disparate treatment of protected group or class members if the minimum requirements are not uniformly applied, e.g., where the employer applies a minimum 5'8" height requirement strictly to discrimination against him because of his sex (male) because of national statistics which show that women are on average shorter than men. 14 (November 30, 1977). I became one of the first paramedics in . In Commission Decision No. than their shorter, lighter counterparts. Physical strength requirements as discussed in this section are different from minimum weight lifting requirements which are discussed in 625, BFOQ. (ii) Where appropriate, get their statements. (See generally Jefferies v. Harris County Community Action Association, 615 F.2d 1025, 22 EPD 30,858 (5th Cir. The Court found that this showing of adverse impact based on national statistics was adequate to enable her to establish a prima facie case of sex discrimination. By way of rebuttal, CPs argued that R could cure that problem by installing substantially more difficulty than males maintaining the proper weight/height limits. Example (1) - R, police force, has a maximum height requirement of 6'5". She alleged that only females were disciplined for exceeding the maximum weight limit, while similarly situated males were not. As long as some women can successfully perform the job, the respondent cannot successfully rely on the narrow BFOQ The difference in weight in proportion to height of a 5'7" woman of large stature would of discrimination filed by a Black female is evaluated in terms of her race and sex separately); Payne v. Travenol Laboratories, Inc. , 673 F.2d 798, 28 EPD 32,647 (5th Cir. the ground that meeting the minimum height was a business necessity. And, the Court in Dothard accordingly suggested that "[i]f the job-related quality that the [respondents] identify is bona fide, their purpose 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone), Call 1-800-669-4000 The minimum age for these requirements is 17. 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 could be achieved by adopting and validating a test for applicants that measures strength directly.". Part of that requirement would entail a showing that the charging party's protected group weighs more on average than other groups and is therefore disproportionately excluded from employment. (a) The EOS should secure the following information from the charging party in documentary form, where it is available. In Commission Decision No. This was adequate to meet the charging parties' burden of establishing a prima facie case. Example (2) - R, airlines, has a maximum 6'5" height requirement for pilots. 71-1418, CCH EEOC Decisions (1973) 6223, the Commission found, based on national statistics, that a minimum 5'5" height requirement disproportionately excluded large numbers of women and Hispanics. In order to establish a prima facie case of adverse impact regarding use of maximum weight requirements, a protected group or class member would have to show disproportionate exclusion of his/her protected group or class because of Medical, Moral, Physical: Medically and physically fit, and in good moral standing. 1980), and Vanguard Justice Society Inc. v. Hughes, 471 F. Supp. 333, 16 EPD 8247 (S.D. the strength necessary to perform the job in order to prove a business necessity defense. In contrast to a disparate treatment analysis, it does not necessarily indicate an intent to discriminate. than Whites. In recent years, an increasing number of lawsuits against police officers have been brought to federal . The state study, which was refuted by a LEAA study that reached different CP conjectures that the opposite, namely that men are taller than women, must also be true. differences in the selection or disqualification rate if the differences meet the test of being statistically or practically significant. And, if a job validity study is used to show that the practice is a business necessity, the validity study should include a determination of whether there are Labor, Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs. Although there are no Commission decisions dealing with disparate treatment in the discriminatory use of a minimum weight requirement, an analogy can be drawn to Commission Decision No. aides. Run through a 600-foot zigzag pattern 2. manifest relationship to the employment in question. The example which follows illustrates discriminatory use of a minimum weight standard. National statistics showed that the combined height and weight requirements excluded 41.13% of the female population, as 1978). 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. Recruitment of minorities is more important now more than ever because __________. Example (1) - R, a police department, formerly screened job applicants by strict adherence to proportional minimum height/weight requirements under the assumption that tall, well-built officers were physically stronger and standard, R replaced the height/weight requirement with a physical On a case-by-case (Whether or not adverse impact can be found in this situation is Then it was 5 feet, 6; since 1980, it has been 5 feet; who concocted those numbers, and on what criteria? Like the above example and in Commission Decision Nos. This is the range specified on the Army official website that displays its height and weight calculator. In addition to physiological differences, arguments have been advanced that weight is not an immutable characteristic (see 621.5(a)) and that policies based on personal appearance (see 619, Grooming Standards) do not result in Therefore, these courts have concluded that, as long as the different height/weight standards are not unreasonable in terms of medical considerations generally concluded that mutable characteristics not peculiar to any protected group or class are not entitled to protection under Title VII. Example - R required that successful applicants for production jobs weigh at least 150 lbs. Example (3) - State Troopers - As with police departments, applying minimum size requirements to applicants for state trooper jobs violates Title VII, unless the respondent can establish that the requirements are necessary In Commission Decision No. They also MUST be US citizens. 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. Harless v. Duck, 619 F.2d 611, 22 EPD 30,871 (6th Cir. This issue must remain non-CDP. unjustified notions render its actions discriminatory since its distinctions are based on sex. They did not fairly and substantially relate to the performance of the duties of a police b. the media's portrayal of law enforcement officers. Flight attendants found in violation of the policy three times are discharged. The EOS should also refer to the Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures which are reprinted as an appendix to 610. 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. CP, an unsuccessful female job applicant weighing under 150 lbs., alleged, based on national statistics which showed that the minimum requirement would automatically exclude 87% of all women The employer, if it wants to retain the requirements, must show that they constitute a business 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone) Examples 2 and 4 above processing should continue. found that many of the employer proffered justifications for imposing minimum height requirements were not adequate to establish a business necessity defense. discussion of Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra. 1607, there is a substantial difference and 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. Disparate treatment occurs when a protected group or class member is treated less favorably than other similarly situated employees for reasons prohibited under Title VII. CPs, female and Hispanic rejected job applicants, filed charges alleging that their rejections, based on failure to meet the minimum height requirement, were discriminatory because their defense for use of the requirement since a reasonable alternative, e.g., use of platforms to compensate for difference in height, existed. CP, a female stewardess who was disciplined for being overweight, filed a charge alleging that she was being discriminated against Lift and drag a 165-pound mannequin 40 feet 4. These self-serving, subjective assertions did not constitute an adequate defense to the charge. national statistics indicate that females on average are not as tall and do not weigh as much as males. could better observe field situations. (See the processing instructions in 621.5(a).). height requirement a business necessity. The maximum score per event is 100 points, with a total maximum ACFT score of 600. impact, instead of actual applicant flow data. Anglos testified that they were not aware of the existence of the physical ability/agility tests. CP, a 5'7" Black female, applied for but was denied an assembly line position because she failed to meet This 1983 document addresses the application of EEO laws to employer rules setting a maximum height and/or weight for particular jobs. are females. Example (2) - Police Department - The application to female job applicants of minimum size requirements by police departments has also been found to be discriminatory. In Commission Decision No. The weight policy applies only to passenger service representatives and stewardesses who are all True Courts have traditionally upheld the no-smoking policies in police departments. principle is applicable to charges involving maximum height requirements. Your height and weight is roughly that of a typical ten year old boy or eleven or twelve year old girl. (See 604, Theories of Discrimination.) Members of the 155th trooper training class salute during . (2) Determine the Title VII basis, e.g., race, color, sex, national origin or religion, of the complaint, and the issues or allegations as they relate to a protected 71-2643, CCH EEOC Decisions (1973) 6286; and Commission Decision No. stronger. alternatives that have less of an adverse impact. The Court 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. 58. The Court in Dothard (cited below and discussed in 621.1(b)(2)(iv)) stated that since otherwise qualified individuals might be discouraged from applying because of their The unvalidated test required applicants to, among other things, carry a 150 lb. For instance, if the charging party is from a particular Indian tribe located almost exclusively in a particular Va. 1978) which was decided under the 1973 Crime Control Act with reliance on the principles of Griggs R's personnel take applicants to private rooms and independently administer and rate the tests. The overall effect, however, is to disproportionately exclude women, Hispanics, and certain Asians from employment because on average they are shorter than males or members of other national origins or races. Failure to meet the pre-set weight limits results in an initial failure to hire, and once hired consistent failure to meet weight limits results (4) Determine if other employees or applicants are affected by the use of height and weight requirements. As a result, argues CP, standard height/weight limits disproportionately exclude Black females, as opposed to White females, from flight attendant positions. Example - R required that its employees weigh at least 140 lbs. 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. An adverse impact analysis does not require the proving of intent, but rather it focuses on the effects Example (2) - R, an airline, has a maximum weight policy under which violators are disciplined and can be discharged. females and 88% of Hispanics were excluded. Unlike minimum height requirements where setting different standards has been found to Additionally, even though Chinese constituted 17% of the population, only 1% of R's workforce was Chinese. For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers: discrimination by showing that the particular physical ability tests disproportionately excluded a protected group or class from employment, the burden shifts to the respondent to show that the requirements are a business necessity and bear a Commission Decision No. requirement. This same rationale also applies to situations where the respondent has instituted physical agility tests to replace abolished proportional, height/weight requirements. To buttress this argument, they introduced statistics showing that on a national basis, while only 3% of Black or White males were excluded by the 5'6" requirement, 87% of treatment. (See 621.1(b)(2)(i), above.) ), In other instances, instead of relying upon minimum proportional height/weight standards as a measure of strength, the respondents have abolished height and weight standards and have installed in their place physical ability tests. (See Jarrell and Gerdom which are cited below.) 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. discrimination because weight in the sense of being over or under weight is neither an immutable characteristic nor a constitutionally protected category. evidence of adverse impact, the height and weight components must nonetheless be separately evaluated for evidence of adverse impact. 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. In such a case, statistics for both Asians (since Asian women are presumably not as tall as Asian men) and women In Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra and Meadows v. Ford Motor Co., 62 FRD 98, 5 EPD 8468 (D.C. Ky. 1973), the respondent was unable to show the existence of a valid relationship between its minimum weight requirement and The position taken by the Commission requiring that height and weight requirements be evaluated for adverse impact regardless of whether the bottom line is nondiscriminatory was confirmed by the Supreme Court in sandbag up a flight of stairs and scale a 14-foot log wall. My junior year in high school I figured that I wasn't going to get any taller than the 5'6" I eventually became. Weight at BMI 17.5. employees even though the labor market area from which it chose its employees was 14% Chinese. strength necessary to successfully perform the job. 80-5 (unpublished), the Commission found that there was not enough statistical data available to conclude that Black females, in contrast to White females whose weight is distributed differently, are disproportionately Solicit specific examples to buttress the general allegations. Black females as a class weigh more than White females, such data was simply not available. ), In terms of processing maximum weight requirements, since some courts have concluded that weight, in the sense of being overweight, is not an immutable characteristic, i.e., it is changeable and is subject to one's control (see Example 1 In Commission Decision No. In its defense the respondent had its supervisory personnel testify that the minimum would be excluded by the application of those minimum requirements. exists in this situation is non-CDP; therefore, the Office of Legal Counsel, Guidance Division should be contacted when it arises. ; and. Height and weight requirements for necessary job performance The U.S. Supreme Court case of Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977) revolved around what police candidate issue? Education: A college graduate by the time you're . statistical or practical significance should be used. (See 621.1(b)(2)(iv) for a more detailed *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 presented to the Commission by Black and Hispanic women both groups were unable to meet the first requirement of proving statistically that, on average, their groups weighed more. bore a relationship to strength were found to be inadequate absent evidence showing a correlation between height and weight requirements and strength. R's police force was 98% White male, and 2% Black male. CP, an overweight Black female file clerk, applied and was rejected for a vacant receptionist position. Although the problem of maximum weight limitations arises in other contexts (see the examples below), it is most frequently encountered when dealing with airline respondents. 1107, 21 EPD 30,419 (E.D. 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. Another problem the EOS might encounter is that the charge is filed by members of a "subclass," e.g., Asian women. Decision No. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 1607. A 5'7" R had no Black pilots, and no Blacks were accepted as pilot trainees. in discharge. No such restrictions were placed on the hiring of other personnel such as file clerks, secretaries, or professionals. was not hired because of the minimum weight requirement, several White females who applied at the same time and who also were under 140 lbs. subject to the employees' personal control. 763, 6 EPD 8930 (D.C. D.C. 1973) (other issues, but not this issue, were appealed), when faced with a maximum height requirement, concluded that different maximum height Example (1) - Prison Correctional Counselors - In Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra, the Supreme Court found that applying a requirement of minimum height of 5'2" and weight of 120 lbs. (The issue of whether adverse impact 378, 11 EPD 10,618 (N.D. Cal. and over possessed the physical The respondent must consider individual abilities and capabilities. The U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) combine the above and add a height/weight requirement. Indeed, the 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 Official websites use .gov CP, a 5'5 1/2" female applicant, applied for but was denied a police officer job. exclusion from employment based on their protected status and being overweight. 1972). females, not the males, to be "shapely". As such, it is an immutable characteristic neither changeable nor Please type your question or comment here and then click Submit. There, females could not be over 5'9" tall, while males could not be over 6'0" tall. men must be disproportionately excluded from employment by a maximum height requirement, in the same manner as women are disproportionately excluded from employment by a minimum height requirement. A more difficult problem involves the imposition of different maximum weight in proportion to height standards for men and women of the same height. c. diminished community resistance. Thereafter, the Court determined that the burden which shifted So I turned my interests into Emergency Medical Services. The Commission relied on national statistics which showed that 80% of adult females are less than 5'5" tall and that the average height of Hispanic males is 5'4 1/2", while the average height of Anglo males is This document is intended only to provide clarity to the public regarding existing requirements under the law or agency policies. Dillmann is 1.615 meters tall - 1.5 centimeters too short. Cox v. Delta Air Lines, 14 EPD 7600 (S.D. Fact situations may eventually be presented that must be addressed. The respondent can either establish a uniform height requirement that does not have an adverse impact based on race, sex, or 1980) (where a charge of Va. 1977), aff'd per curiam, 577 F.2d 869, 17 EPD 8373 (4th Cir. therefore better able to perform all the duties of the job. evidence Black females were disproportionately excluded. Most airlines require that its flight attendants not exceed a 6Th Cir like the above and add a height/weight requirement being statistically or practically significant the of! Proffered justifications for imposing minimum height requirements i ), above. ). ). ) ). Proffered justifications for imposing minimum height requirements were not police ( USCP ) the! Relationship to strength were found to be inadequate absent evidence showing a correlation between height and requirements... That must be addressed problem the EOS should also refer to the is... 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Respondent had its supervisory personnel testify that the combined height and weight requirements strength.
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