BFOQ or Discrimination?
regdunlop
176 Posts
i saw a help-wanted ad in the newspaper that got me thinking. the ad was for a "ice girl" to help with the clearing of the ice surface during intermissions of hockey games. the position also required interaction with fans which i am guessing amounts to shooting t-shirts into the stands with one of those guns that you see at all sporting events now. the aspect of the ad that got me thinking was that it was gender specific. the ad specifically asked for girls and women to apply. is this a situation of a bona fide occupational qualification or could the team get into trouble by excluding men? i seem to remember a case of a restaurant chain known for its revealing uniforms getting sued for rejecting men but don't know the outcome.
Comments
You are right about the restaurant chain - and the restaurant lost. The ruling stated that you did not have to be female to serve food, so men were allowed to apply. The restaurant, however, made the man wear the same skimpy "uniform" that the female servers wear! [:D]
I would agree with you this position would probably not be BFOQ, but without seeing the job description, I couldn't be sure.
I would agree that this is discrimination and not a BFOQ. I thought we had gotten past these types of ad! You are correct- they lost :}
Angie
HR Manager