Bona Fide Occupational Qualification (BFOQ)

January 13, 2021 by mjpospis

“Bona Fide Occupational Requirement” Defense Properly Denied to John Varvatos in Sex Discrimination Case

In Knox v. John Varvatos Enterprises Inc., 17-CV-772, 2021 WL 95914 (S.D.N.Y. Jan. 12, 2021) – a gender discrimination class action lawsuit – the court, inter alia, held that the defendant was not permitted to invoke the “Bona Fide Occupational Requirement” (BFOQ) defense codified in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. In…

The “Bona Fide Occupational Qualification” (“BFOQ”) in Employment Law

Generally, the anti-discrimination laws – such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 – prohibit discrimination against employees and applicants based on certain protected characteristics (as in the case of Title VII, race, color, religion, sex, and national origin). That said, there exists a (limited) exception, where such a characteristic is…