Human Resource Blog

Idaho Sex Discrimination and Height

In Idaho, can I set a minimum height requirement for hiring security guards? What is the difference between sexual harassment and a hostile working environment?

Let’s take your question about height first.

The answer is no, you cannot. Setting a 6-foot minimum eliminates most women and many people who are members of certain ethnic groups, ancestries, or national origins. That would put such a move in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title VII prohibits job discrimination based on color, national origin, sex, race, or religion. Any such practice or policy limiting job opportunities for a protective group is probably illegal. Not only does that include hiring, by the way, but also firing, transfer, training, and promotion, as well as working condition, benefits, and compensation.

You as employer would have to show that hiring someone 6 feet tall or more would meet a significant and justifiable business need. Such a scenario is unlikely, but if, for example, the operating controls on a bulldozer could only be reached by someone at least 6 feet tall, that might amount to a legitimate need.

Remember too that height as a requirement could easily be challenged if some other tests of job performance could be found. A test of strength or stamina, for example, would probably trump a height requirement as a true measure of the abilities of a security officer. That’s because it would not eliminate people by gender, race, ethnic group, and the like.

Now for your second question, the difference between sexual harassment and a hostile working environment.

We’ll explain some of the terminology. The creation of a hostile working environment is actually one specific form of sexual harassment.

Sexual harassment comes in two forms.

The first is unwelcome sexual advances. That could include sexual advances, obviously, but also requests for sexual relations and sexual types of verbal and physical contact. Quid pro quo harassment pressure when an employer seeks sexual favors from an employee in exchange for job advantages or to avoid firing or other bad outcomes.

The second form is the hostile work environment. That means being the target of sexual, and more specifically offensive or abusive, conduct because of gender.