Exceptions to Employment Discrimination Laws

Employment discrimination laws are in place in the United States to protect the integrity of both businesses and individuals. There are exceptions to the law because sometimes they are necessary to ensure a healthy and safe working environment. The cases where there is a legitimate exception to employment discrimination laws are rare.

Facts

Employment discrimination is prohibited in the United States in most cases. Discrimination based on nationality, gender, race, age and religion is prohibited. However, there are some cases where a company is allowed to discriminate against someone for one of the above reasons. For example, a Catholic church is allowed to only hire a Catholic to be a clergy member. Another example is that airlines are allowed to set the age where a pilot is forced to retire. The reason for this is safety is one of the main concerns of any airline and pilots are deemed less safe to fly a plane after they reach a certain age. Yet another example is that someone who designs men's clothing is allowed to only hire men to model that clothing.

The exception that allows the above employment discrimination is called the Bona Fide Occupational Qualification Exception. To legally use this exception, employers must prove that for example, a Jewish man can not properly perform the tasks of a clergy in the Catholic Church or an older man or woman is not fit to be a safe airline pilot.

Conclusion

These exceptions to the employment discrimination law are designed to protect companies from employees that cannot perform the job properly.