NCJ Number
75325
Journal
Journal of Police Science and Administration Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (December 1980) Pages: 414-436
Date Published
1980
Length
23 pages
Annotation
Legal problems relating to height, weight, and physical agility requirements for police and fire department personnel are discussed; and solutions that may satisfy both Federal fair employment requirements and departments' needs are offered.
Abstract
Although such requirements have generally been employed to ensure that public safety agencies might effectively discharge their responsibility of protecting the lives and property of the people within their jurisdictions, most of the courts which have dealt with the validity of these selection criteria have found that they tend to unlawfully discriminate against women and people of certain national origins. Since the enactment of the amendments to Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 making its fair employment provisions applicable to the States and their political subdivisions, many important legal questions have arisen. To address these questions, an analysis focuses on the legal theories by which physical characteristic standards and ability standards have been invalidated. Then, several alternative solutions are offered. These include the revival of separate classification systems and the establishment of separate standards for the employment of men and women, the requirement that applicants and employees maintain an acceptable relationship between their height and weight, and the use of a probationary period often concurrent with the training phase of an employee's public safety experience which allows employers to discharge probationers who are unable to satisfy the physical requirements of the jobs involved. Footnotes are included.