could better observe field situations. Therefore, 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 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. Additionally, as height or weight problems in the extreme may potentially be a handicap issue, charging parties or potential charging parties should be advised of their right to file a complaint under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. 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. Both male and female flight attendants are allegedly subject to the weight requirement. The physical strength requirements discussed here involve situations where positions constitutes unlawful sex discrimination in violation of Title VII. based on standard height/weight charts. Supp. b. the media's portrayal of law enforcement officers. That is, they do not have to prove that in a particular job, in a particular locale, a particular employer's records show that it disproportionately excludes them because of minimum height or weight requirements. N.Y. 1979). 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. and ability to comply, are consistent with accepted medical notions of good health, and exemptions are available for those medically unable to comply, the use of different standards does not result in prohibited discrimination. (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 R, in response to the charge, contends that there is no sex discrimination because maintaining the proper weight is b. the media's portrayal of law enforcement officers. CP, a Black It is changeable, it is controllable within age and medical limits, and it is not a trait peculiar to National statistics showed that the combined height and weight requirements excluded 41.13% of the female population, as prohibited sex discrimination. 1607; and 610, Adverse Impact in the Selection Process, which is forthcoming.). The respondent can either establish a uniform height requirement that does not have an adverse impact based on race, sex, or 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. Examples 2 and 4 above processing should continue. 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 aides. This was the case in Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra where a female was rejected for a correctional counselor position because she failed to meet the minimum 120 lb. requirement, where there was no neutral height policy, and no one had ever been rejected based on height. In Example 2 above, the allegation is that weight, in the sense of Black females weighing more than White females, is a trait peculiar to a particular race. of right to sue issued to protect the charging party's appeal rights. very charts which are standard, and which are relied on to establish height/weight in proportion to body size contain different permissible limits for men and women in recognition of the physiological differences between the two groups. Experts from Military.com explain that males can weigh a maximum of 141 pounds at 60 inches, 191 pounds at 70 inches . 670, 20 EPD 30,077 (D.C. Md. objects. Otherwise stated, if the allegation is that women as a class are, based on statistics, more frequently overweight than men, this charge should be dismissed in such a manner Air Line Pilots Ass'n. employees even though the labor market area from which it chose its employees was 14% Chinese. standards for female as opposed to similarly situated male employees. In Commission Decision No. In Commission Decision No. It is nonetheless conceivable that charges could be brought challenging a maximum height requirement as discriminatory. 54 In Commission Decision No. In its defense the respondent had its supervisory personnel testify that the minimum R's employ even though females constituted the largest percentage of potential employees in the SMSA from which R recruited. R alleges that its concern for the (i) Use of National Statistics - In dealing with height and weight requirements it may not in many cases be appropriate to rely upon an actual applicant flow analysis to determine if women 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 R's personnel take applicants to private rooms and independently administer and rate the tests. The maximum score per event is 100 points, with a total maximum ACFT score of 600. For a discussion of Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321, 14 EPD 7632 (1977), the EOS should refer to 621.1(b)(2)(iv). Accordingly, This 1983 document addresses the application of EEO laws to employer rules setting a maximum height and/or weight for particular jobs. Policy on height and weight requirements Printer-friendly version Next ISBN -7778-5903-3 Approved by the OHRC: June 19, 1996 (Please note: minor revisions were made in December 2009 to address legislative amendments resulting from the Human Rights Code Amendment Act, 2006, which came into effect on June 30, 2008.) 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. because of her sex in that males were not subject to the policy. (BMI calculator says you are underweight). 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone), Call 1-800-669-4000 The court was not persuaded by respondent's argument that taller officers have the advantage in subduing suspects and observing field situations, so as to make the 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. For Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers: In Commission Decision No. ), 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. locale or region and as to the particular racial or national origin group. R defended on the ground that CP was not being treated differently from similarly situated males because there were no male stewards or passenger service representatives. 1979), the court looked at Dothard, supra and concluded that the plaintiffs established a prima facie case of sex discrimination by 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 Employment preference is given to Florida Certified Law Enforcement Officers with one year of sworn law enforcement . 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 The general provisions of Title VII prohibiting discrimination have a direct and obvious application where the selection criteria include height or weight requirements. impact, instead of actual applicant flow data. 76-83, CCH Employment Weight at BMI 17.5. Practices Guide 6661, the Commission looked at national statistics and the fact that all of respondent's police officers were male and concluded that the respondent's minimum 5'9", 145 lbs., requirement disproportionately impacted against Medical, Moral, Physical: Medically and physically fit, and in good moral standing. height, did not constitute an adequate business necessity defense. *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 This issue is non-CDP. In that case the plaintiff, a flight attendant suspended from active duty because she exceeded the maximum allowable weight limit for her height, contended that she was being discriminated against because Investigation revealed evidence supporting CP's contention and that R had no Chinese The respondent did not show the existence of a valid relationship between strength and weight. (See 625, BFOQ, for a detailed treatment of the BFOQ exception.). The standards include physical aptitude tests and a requirement that officers' waistlines be 40 inches for men and 35 inches for women. than their shorter, lighter counterparts. who were over 6'5" and that R employed White pilots who exceeded the maximum height. 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. 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. groups was not justified as a business necessity or validated in accordance with Commission guidelines. CP, a 5'7" Black female, applied for but was denied an assembly line position because she failed to meet The question of what would constitute an adequate business necessity defense so as to entitle the employer to maintain minimum height standards was not addressed by the Court in Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra. 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. A more difficult problem involves the imposition of different maximum weight in proportion to height standards for men and women of the same height. The physical agility test, as designed, primarily measured upper body strength thereby disproportionately excluding large numbers of female applicants. 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. resultant disproportionate exclusion of females from consideration for employment establishes a prima facie case of sex discrimination. 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 HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT HEIGHT AND WEIGHT CHART Exceptions are granted for an applicant whose height and weight is proportioned, or an applicant with a muscular or athletic build. geographical region that is not as tall as other Native Americans, it would not be appropriate to use national statistics on Native Americans in the analysis. And for Male - 162.5cms For this you must have 10th passed Do you have any question? As the following examples suggest, charges in this area may also be based on disparate treatment, e.g., that female flight attendants are being treated differently by nonuniform application of a maximum weight requirement or that different disproportionate exclusion or adverse impact can, based on national statistics, constitute a prima facie case of discrimination. d. improved educational opportunities. 71-2643, CCH EEOC Decisions (1973) 6286; and Commission Decision No. Officers for Justice v. Civil Service Commission, 335 F. Supp. R was unable to offer any evidence The Office of Legal Counsel, Guidance Division should therefore be contacted for assistance when charges based on this issue arise. As long as some women can successfully perform the job, the respondent cannot successfully rely on the narrow BFOQ Example (2) - R, city bus company, had a 5'7" minimum height requirement for its drivers. Black females as a class weigh more than White females, such data was simply not available. females than males since the average height for females is 63 inches, and the average height for males is 68.2 inches. A slightly smaller range is not acceptable. In Commission Decision No. principle is applicable to charges involving maximum height requirements. (See the examples in 621.3(a), above.). Male Female; Height: Maximum: Height: Maximum: 4'5" 133: 4'5" 134: 4'6" 137: 4'6" 138: 4'7" 142: 4'7" 141: 4'8" 147: 4'8" 144: 4'9" 151: 4'9" 148: . other police departments have similar requirements. Thereafter, to ultimately prevail, the charging party would have to show the availability of less restrictive alternatives. (since Asian women are presumably not as tall as American women) may not be applicable. 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 The charge should, however, be accepted, assigned a charge number, and the file closed and a notice Investigation Thereafter, the Court determined that the burden which shifted standard, R replaced the height/weight requirement with a physical similar tasks and also deal with the public. 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? According to respondent, taller officers enjoyed a psychological advantage and thus would less often be attacked, were better able to subdue suspects, and female and Chinese applicants rejected because they were under the minimum height, filed a charge against R alleging sex and national origin discrimination. 1131 (N.D. Ohio 1973), a civil rights action was brought by a group of women who alleged that they were denied the opportunity to apply for employment as East Cleveland police officers because they did not meet the 5'8" height requirement and the 150-pound weight requirement imposed by the police department. Applicants must be between 60 and 80 inches in height, and be between 18 and 39 years of age. Example (2) - R, airlines, has a maximum 6'5" height requirement for pilots. My junior year in high school I figured that I wasn't going to get any taller than the 5'6" I eventually became. Since it is 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. in discharge. classes. discussion of Dothard v. Rawlinson, supra. result in discrimination (see 621.2 above), some courts (see cases cited below) have found that setting different maximum weight standards for men and women of the same height does not result in prohibited discrimination. Investigation revealed that R had no Black assembly line workers and that a and over possessed the physical according to its statutory mandate the municipal police training council established physical standards for male and female officers. Decision No. 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. Investigation revealed that R did in fact accept and train Whites Most airlines require that its flight attendants not exceed a The minimum age for these requirements is 17. The example which follows illustrates discriminatory use of a minimum weight standard. However, Marines have more restrictive height standards with make applicants having a range of between 58 inches and 78 inches while female applicants should fall between 58 inches . 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. (ii) Where appropriate, get their statements. Members of the 155th trooper training class salute during . justification for its actions, the employee has the opportunity to show that the employer's reason is merely a pretext for discrimination. 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