Chinese height discrimination case

In May, the New York Times reported on a disturbing phenomenon in the People's Republic of China: Otherwise highly qualified applicants for government jobs are being turned down because they are too short (and often just barely so). As part of an effort to put the nation's "best face" forward in the global economy, Chinese ministries have adopted height and other aesthetics requirements. Although the Times article appeared to be intended as an amusing human-interest story, the issue is in fact quite serious for those affected. Height requirements in China--for educational as well as employment opportunities--tend to be set at roughly the national average, and accordingly large portions of the population are excluded by them. Moreover, the issue raises interesting trans-national questions about the nature of of equality, and the role of courts in interpreting and enforcing constitutional guarantees. No constitutional or national statutory provision in China specifically bars height discrimination, and as a result, legal efforts to challenge minimum height requirements have invoked Article 33 of the Chinese Constitution, which makes all citizens "equal before the law." However, with an important caveat, to which I'll return below, these efforts have been largely unsuccessful. Before American readers start clucking over Chinese disrespect for human rights, it's worth noting that the situation is basically the same in the United States. Federal statutes bar discrimination in employment, housing, federally funded education and other areas on such bases as race, religion and sex, but not on the basis of height. Obviously, there are some categories of employment for which height is relevant. If I, standing exactly six feet tall, apply for the position of center of the New York Knicks, clearly team president Isiah Thomas can invoke my merely average stature (along with my lack of jumping ability, lazy defense and weak jump shot) as grounds for turning me down. But the law even permits the Knicks to deny me a job as a popcorn vendor if, on purely aesthetic grounds, the team decides that it wants all of its male salespeople to be over six foot two. (The team would be engaging in sex discrimination if it applied the same height requirement to female popcorn vendors, but no provision of federal law prohibits favoring tall men over short men, along with tall women over short women).

Two Muslim religious leaders sue airlines for discrimination

Two Islamic religious leaders from Tennessee filed a lawsuit against two airlines Monday, claiming they were discriminated against and not allowed to fly on a plane in May because of the way they looked. Masudur Rahman and Mohamed Zaghloul, both imams, request a jury trial in the suit, filed in federal court against Delta Air Lines and Atlantic Southeast Airlines. In the suit, the two said they arrived at the Memphis, Tennesseee, International Airport on May 6, wearing traditional Muslim attire, including religious garb and headgear. The two were headed from Memphis to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend a conference on anti-Muslim bigotry. Rahman is an Arabic-language adjunct professor at the University of Memphis and originally from Pakistan. Zaghloul is a religious leader at the Islamic Association of Greater Memphis and originally from Egypt. "Atlantic Southeast and Delta oppose discrimination in any form from any source and our employees act at all times in the best interest of passenger safety and security. We cannot comment further on pending litigation," said Eric Torbenson, Delta Air Lines spokesman. A spokeswoman for ASA, Allison Baker, released the same statement when contacted by CNN. The imams said they went through TSA checkpoints and their belongings were screened. According to the complaint, while at their gate preparing to board, both men were pulled aside and told they would be subject to a random, secondary security check and search. The two men claim they "willingly complied and cooperated to the best of their ability," according to the lawsuit. They say TSA agents asked them for identification and questioned them about their trip to North Carolina, then cleared them to board. The two were seated about five rows apart, the complaint said. While the airplane was still at the gate, the suit said an airline agent came onto the plane and once again asked the men to produce their photo identification. They say they complied willingly and were cleared again. But "moments after the plane began to taxi the runway and prepare for takeoff, defendants' pilot announced that the plane had to go back to the gate. Once the pilot returned the plane to the gate, defendants' pilot ordered both plaintiffs to get their bags and immediately leave the airplane," the complaint said. The two men said TSA agents again searched their bags and "conducted a comprehensive body pat-down." They claim the TSA agent thanked them for their cooperation and cleared them to board.