Discrimination and the Hiring Process FAQ
Q : Is it ever appropriate to indicate a preference for applicants of a specific sex or age?
A: Rarely. Anti-discrimination laws require employers to consider applicants as individuals, not based on stereotypical assumptions. If a factory job requires a worker to lift forty pounds on a regular basis, an employer cannot express a preference for young male applicants based on the stereotyped notion that men are strong and older people and women are weak. Some women and older people can lift forty pounds, just as some young men cannot. Rather, the employer's job ad should state that the job requires "regularly lifting forty pounds."
In some rare circumstances, however, it is an objective fact that individuals who are members of a protected class cannot perform the job in question. For example, a filmmaker may hire only men for male roles, or a kosher deli may hire only Jewish people as butchers. In both of these examples, sex and religion are bona fide occupational qualifications (BFOQ). Both Title VII and the ADEA allow employers to limit a job to applicants of a specific group where the employer can prove that sex, religion, national origin or age is a BFOQ for the job in question. Race and color, however, can never qualify as a BFOQ.
Sidebar: Religious Institutions Expressing a Preference for Employees of a Particular Religion | | Title VII expressly allows religious corporations and sectarian educational institutions to hire applicants of a particular religion. For example, a Catholic grade school could decide to hire a teacher because he is a Catholic rather than hire an applicant who is a Protestant. This exemption applies only to religion, however, the school may not discriminate in hiring teachers based on race, color, sex, national origin, age or disability. |
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