The Constitutional Court on Tuesday heard oral arguments in the case of a woman suing the government for discrimination after being disqualified from serving as a firefighter because she was deemed too short.
In 2018, the plaintiff, surnamed Chen (陳), passed the class 4 firefighter and police certification test, but failed the physical examination as, at 158.9cm, she was 1.1cm short of the height requirement.
The Civil Service Protection and Training Commission a year later rejected her application to be a firefighter, citing the height requirement stipulated in the regulations governing qualifications for police officers and firefighters.
Photo: Screen grab from a Constitutional Court’s video
Chen’s lawyer told the court that the height requirement is discriminatory and that barring Chen from becoming a firefighter is an infringement of her right to work in government.
The requirements that non-
indigenous female police and firefighter applicants must be at least 160cm tall has no rational basis, her lawyer said, adding that setting separate certification standards for genders and ethnicities is discriminatory.
The height requirement for men to join the service is less stringent than for women, as more than 90 percent of 18-year-old Taiwanese men meet the 165cm requirement, but only 45 percent of 18-year-old Taiwanese women meet the 160cm requirement, the lawyer said.
Setting height requirements according to gender and ethnicity is a form of discrimination based on intrinsic and unalterable traits, which is not constitutionally justifiable, the lawyer said.
In addition, the regulation states that physical examinations are to be conducted “when necessary,” which is vague legal language that contravenes the doctrine against ambiguity in law, they said.
Lawyers representing the Ministry of Examination and the Ministry of the Interior said that the rules on height requirements are to help ensure that firefighters and police officers are strong enough to perform their functions, which is legally justifiable.
The opportunity to work in public service is rightfully limited to people possessing appropriate competencies and qualifications, they said.
Establishing standards for a type of service is typically the executive branch’s prerogative, which cannot be challenged without cause, the lawyers said.
Height standards differ according to gender due to fieldwork requirements, they said, adding that the height requirement for indigenous people, who are shorter than the average Taiwanese, is lower to ensure equal opportunities.
The recruiting agency’s order for Chen to undergo additional physical examinations to ensure she met the physical standards is a proper exercise of discretion and demonstration of what necessity meant in the rules, they said.
Removing the height requirement would compromise public safety and could place the lives of first responders at a higher risk, National Fire Agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) told the court.
Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (宗力諭) said the court would deliver its judgement no later than five months after the hearing in accordance with the law.
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