If you come from the occupational health and safety space, chances are you are familiar with the term “Bona Fide Occupational Requirement (BFOR).” Simply put, a BFOR is a legal term for the essential or critical tasks required for an individual to perform a specific job role.  As a way to protect their employees and risk to their organization, employers will often develop BFOR for occupations or job roles that are safety sensitive.  Considered broadly, safety sensitive job roles can be anything from forklift operators, to individuals working in close proximity to hazardous materials.

BFORs are not preferences; rather, they are duties or elements that are essential to the job.  If an employer can establish a particular BFOR that cannot be modified or adapted, then in a situation where an employee is unable to perform the specified job requirements, the employer may not have to accommodate the worker in that job.  Before a BFOR defence can be established by the employer, they must show that they cannot accommodate without undue hardship. 

To learn more about the necessary steps required to properly develop a defendable Physical Employment Standard (PES) which could subsequently be implemented as an industry BFOR, download the Bona Fide Occupational Requirement Development White Paper.