Question - 1

A. Does Hooter's hiring of only women to act as servers qualify as a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification?Why or why not?

B. Should Hooter's be able to discriminate based upon attractiveness or weight (appearance)?Before the answer, think of workplaces and retailers you have been in - imagine the employees you saw at those locations (and for some, how they got their job)?

Question -2

This comes from the Columbia University website: "As an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, the University does not discriminate against or permit harassment of employees or applicants for employment on the basis of race, color, sex, gender (including gender identity and expression), pregnancy, religion, creed, national origin, age, alienage and citizenship, status as a perceived or actual victim of domestic violence, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, partnership status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, arrest record, or any other legally protected status."

Hypothetically, John Smith has applied for a maintenance post at Columbia. The job entails routine and emergency plumbing and fixing of general problems, everything from burned-out lightbulbs to graffiti. More or less, the job is to walk around and make sure things are in working order. He'd be working the night shift from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. His assigned buildings would be a classroom and three coed dorms. He has been arrested three times for attempted rape of young women, but there was never enough evidence to convict.

Susan Rieger heads the Columbia University employment office. It's part of her job to defend the school's policies. In ethical terms, how do you suppose she might defend Columbia's refusal to discriminate on the basis of arrest record?