BFOQ (Bona Fide Occupational Qualifications)

It's unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of age, religion, gender, or national origin when hiring or terminating an employee. There is, however, a major exception to this rule. It occurs when any of those factors is considered a 'bona fide occupational qualification', or BFOQ. A bona fide occupational qualification is defined as any requirement which when viewed on the surface seems biased, but actually is reasonably necessary for the performance of the job.

Ttile VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 states that an employee cannot be treated differently because of sex unless sex is a BFOQ.  A BFOQ allows an organization to hire and employ individuals on the basis of the qualifications reasonable necessary to the normal operaiton of that particular business or enterprise.