Legal Definitions - BFOQ

BFOQ stands for Bona Fide Occupational Qualification.

A Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ) is a very narrow legal exception that allows an employer to discriminate against job applicants or employees based on their sex, religion, or national origin, but not race or color. For this exception to apply, the employer must demonstrate that the specific characteristic (like being a certain sex or adhering to a particular religion) is absolutely essential and "reasonably necessary" for the normal operation of that particular business or enterprise.

In essence, a BFOQ means that while anti-discrimination laws generally prohibit employers from making hiring or employment decisions based on these protected characteristics, there are rare instances where the nature of the job itself genuinely requires someone to be of a particular sex, religion, or national origin. The employer must prove that no reasonable alternative exists and that the characteristic is fundamental to the job's core duties, not merely preferred.

• Example 1: Sex as a BFOQ

  Imagine a women's clothing boutique that offers personalized fitting room assistance for its customers. When hiring a fitting room attendant, the boutique may argue that being female is a BFOQ. The essential function of the job involves assisting female customers in a private setting, often requiring physical contact to adjust garments. Requiring the attendant to be female is considered reasonably necessary to protect the privacy and comfort of the customers, thereby facilitating the normal operation of the business's fitting room service.

• Example 2: Religion as a BFOQ

  Consider a religious organization, such as a specific denomination's theological seminary, that is hiring a professor to teach courses on its particular religious doctrines and practices. The seminary may require that the professor be an adherent of that specific faith. In this case, being a member of that religion would be a BFOQ because the essential function of the job is to accurately teach and embody the specific tenets and traditions of that faith to future clergy. This requirement is reasonably necessary for the normal operation of a religious educational institution dedicated to training its own religious leaders.