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Single Sex Gyms and BFOQs

By Dan Filler, Laura Appleman et al.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">Speaking of BFOQs, which fellow guest-blogger Paul McGreal happens to be (scroll down), I posed the following hypothetical to my employment seminar the other day:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"> </span></o:p></p> <blockquote dir="ltr"> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">A gym runs a chain of 30 all women's clubs and employs 150 workers, all of whom are female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The gym markets itself to those women who are "naturally modest," "who value their privacy," and features workout equipment that is "specifically built for women."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>The d cor is a pale mauve and purple, as are the workout machines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Each club features a large number of dance, aerobic, and pilates classes, which are generally more popular among women than men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>If a qualified man wants to apply for a position as a receptionist, personal trainer, or locker room attendant, may the gym assert a BFOQ defense?</span></p></blockquote> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"> </span></o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><font size="3"></font><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">I enjoyed doing some law review research into BFOQs, especially because the titles of the articles on the topic are, to say the least, rather eye-catching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>For example, Ann McGinley's recent article appearing in the Duke Journal of Gender Law and Policy is titled </span><a href="//http://www.law.duke.edu/shell/cite.pl?14+Duke+J.+Gender+L.+&+Pol'y+257"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">"Babes and Beefcake: Exclusive Hiring Arrangements and Sexy Dress Codes</span></a><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">," while<font size="3"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Kim Yuracko's well-known article on BFOQs in the California Law Review is titled "Private Nurses and Playboy Bunnies: Explaining Permissible Sex Discrimination." As both articles explain, BFOQs are generally recognized in the areas of safety, authenticity, and privacy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  (</span>In the hypo I posed to the class, privacy is the operative concern). </font></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><font size="3"></font>In any event, I'm following Paul's posts with interest and look forward to reading his forthcoming article. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"></span></span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><span style="FONT-SIZE: 14px; MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">P.s. "BFOQ" is pronounced by spelling out each letter of the acronym.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">  </span>Pronouncing the acronym as a word is not recommended, unless of course you want your class to giggle and/or laugh at you.</span></p>

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).