[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 29, Volume 4]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 29CFR1606.6]

[Page 197]
 
                             TITLE 29--LABOR
 
                               COMMISSION
 
PART 1606--GUIDELINES ON DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF NATIONAL ORIGIN--Table of 
Contents
 
Sec. 1606.6  Selection procedures.

    (a)(1) In investigating an employer's selection procedures 
(including those identified below) for adverse impact on the basis of 
national origin, the Commission will apply the Uniform Guidelines on 
Employee Selection Procedures (UGESP), 29 CFR part 1607. Employers and 
other users of selection procedures should refer to the UGESP for 
guidance on matters, such as adverse impact, validation and 
recordkeeping requirements for national origin groups.
    (2) Because height or weight requirements tend to exclude 
individuals on the basis of national origin, \3\ the user is expected to 
evaluate these selection procedures for adverse impact, regardless of 
whether the total selection process has an adverse impact based on 
national origin. Therefore, height or weight requirements are identified 
here, as they are in the UGESP, \4\ as exceptions to the ``bottom line'' 
concept.
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    \3\ See CD 71-1529 (1971), CCH EEOC Decisions [para]6231, 3 FEP 
Cases 952; CD 71-1418 (1971), CCH EEOC Decisions [para]6223, 3 FEP Cases 
580; CD 74-25 (1973), CCH EEOC Decisions [para]6400, 10 FEP Cases 260. 
Davis v. County of Los Angeles, 566 F. 2d 1334, 1341-42 (9th Cir., 1977) 
vacated and remanded as moot on other grounds, 440 U.S. 625 (1979). See 
also, Dothard v. Rawlinson, 433 U.S. 321 (1977).
    \4\ See section 4C(2) of the Uniform Guidelines on Employee 
Selection Procedures, 29 CFR 1607.4C(2).
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    (b) The Commission has found that the use of the following selection 
procedures may be discriminatory on the basis of national origin. 
Therefore, it will carefully investigate charges involving these 
selection procedures for both disparate treatment and adverse impact on 
the basis of national origin. However, the Commission does not consider 
these to be exceptions to the ``bottom line'' concept:
    (1) Fluency-in-English requirements, such as denying employment 
opportunities because of an individual's foreign accent, \5\ or 
inability to communicate well in English. \6\
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    \5\ See CD AL68-1-155E (1969), CCH EEOC Decisions [para]6008, 1 FEP 
Cases 921.
    \6\ See CD YAU9-048 (1969), CCH EEOC Decisions [para]6054, 2 FEP 
Cases 78.
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    (2) Training or education requirements which deny employment 
opportunities to an individual because of his or her foreign training or 
education, or which require an individual to be foreign trained or 
educated.