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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 a definable 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 employer.s 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 BFOQ.s 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 on religious denomination would be illegal because religion has no effect on a person.s 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 3567)8, 9 %llinois -uman rights (ct" (rticle 6 /mployment: /#emptions 1ec. 67)8,. /#emptions. (() ;othing contained in this (ct shall prohibit an employer" employment agency or labor organi<ation from0 ()) Bona Fide Qualification. -iring or selecting between persons for bona fide occupational qualifications or any reason e#cept those ci!il7rights !iolations specifically identified in this (rticle.