The New Bedford Police Department required all police officers, both male and female, to satisfy a 5-foot-6-inch minimum height requirement. Maria Costa wanted to become a police officer. She had passed the city's physical examination and had scored 93 percent on the state civil service examination. Costa's successful completion of these requirements gained her a ranking as the number-one candidate on the eligibility list for female officers. When two vacancies for a female police officer occurred, Costa was interviewed for the position but was rejected due to her failure to satisfy the minimum height requirement. The secondranked female applicant was also rejected under the height requirement. The city hired the third- and fourth-ranked women, who did meet the minimum height.

Costa brought an action under Title VII, producing undisputed evidence that less than 20 percent of women attain the height of 5 feet 6 inches. Therefore, Costa claimed that the police department's minimum height policy had a disparate impact on women in violation of Title VII.
The city denied this allegation by claiming that its policy did not result in a disparate impact on women, as it hired women for the vacancies.
Does the city policy violate Title VII? Decide the case. [Costa v. Markey, 706 F.2d 1 (1st Cir.)]