A 911 emergency response service needs operators who are bilingual in English and Spanish. A few applicants of Spanish origin ar
e rejected due to their poor English-speaking skills. They file a complaint on the grounds of discrimination based on nationality. The rejected applicants ultimately lose in a bench trial before a judge as a matter of law. Here, the government likely was able to prevail because:
In this scenario, the government likely was able to prevail because of bona fide occupational qualifications. This refers to a quality or an attribute that employers are allowed to consider when deciding whether or not to hire an individual candidate. Usually, this is in regard to a quality or trait, that under other circumstances, would be considered discrimination. In this case, the trait in question is Fluent Bilingual Skills, and here it is not considered discrimination because this skill is necessary and an employee without them may put lives at risk.
