The Constitutional Court yesterday struck down a rule requiring female firefighters to be at least 1.6m tall, saying that it contravened the Constitution.
Rules governing the civil service entrance examination for police and firefighters stipulate a height requirement of 1.65m for men and 1.6m for women, or 1.58m and 1.55m respectively for indigenous male and female candidates.
In 2018, a woman surnamed Chen (陳) passed the certification test for firefighters, but was eliminated from the program after a second physical exam showed her to be 1.1cm short of the height requirement.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
She filed an administrative appeal and after it was dismissed, asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the matter, arguing that the height requirement and being told to take a second physical examination contravened her rights.
Chen’s attorney during oral arguments on Jan. 16 said that the height limits have no scientific basis and deprived the plaintiff of her right to join the civil service.
The second physical exam ordered by Chen’s instructors at the academy stemmed from the provision of the regulation allowing such tests to be taken again “for cause,” a broad and vague phrase that infringes on the principle of legal clarity, her attorney said.
Lawyers representing the Ministry of Examination and the Ministry of the Interior said that the height requirement was to help ensure police and firefighters are physically capable of performing their duties and can use standard-issue equipment.
National Fire Agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) told the court that firefighters are expected to meet physical standards to minimize operational risks and that short people are not suitable for the job.
Indigenous candidates have separate height standards because they are shorter on average than other Taiwanese, Hsiao said, adding that using a common standard could be racially discriminatory.
However, the court said that the height limits would exclude female candidates from becoming first responders more often than it would males, contravening the equal protection principle in Article 8 of the Constitution.
The height requirement must be removed within a year of the judgement, it said.
The other part of the lawsuit concerning the rule authorizing government departments to order a second physical exam for cause was dismissed, as the court did not find the meaning of “cause” to be unclear.
Chen said that she wanted to become a firefighter to help people such as her ill mother, adding that she was dumbstruck that she could be barred from joining the service due to her height.
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