New York State Div. of Human Rights v. New York-Pennsylvania Professional Baseball League

• Decision Date: 13 January 1972
• Docket Number: YORK-PENNSYLVANIA
• Citation: 329 N.Y.S.2d 99,29 N.Y.2d 921
• Parties: , 279 N.E.2d 856, 4 Fair Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 543, 4 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 7641 NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, on Complaint of Bernice GERA, Respondent, v. NEWPROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE et al., Appellants.
• Court: New York Court of Appeals Court of Appeals

Page 99

329 N.Y.S.2d 99

29 N.Y.2d 921, 279 N.E.2d 856, 4 Fair

Empl.Prac.Cas. (BNA) 543,

4 Empl. Prac. Dec. P 7641

NEW YORK STATE DIVISION OF HUMAN RIGHTS, on Complaint of

Bernice GERA, Respondent, v. NEW YORK-PENNSYLVANIA PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE et al., Appellants.

Court of Appeals of New York.

Jan. 13, 1972.

Appeal from the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, 36 A.D.2d 364, 320 N.Y.S.2d 788.

Henry Spitz, New York City (Alan J. Saks, New York City, of counsel), for State Division of Human Rights.

Mario Biaggi, New York City, for Bernice Gera.

Proceeding was brought to review orders of the State Division of Human Rights and Human Rights Appeal Board determining that professional baseball league officials had barred female complainant from employment as an umpire because of her sex and directing petitioning officials to cease and desist such practice.

The Appellate Division dismissed the petition and confirmed the order. It held that the standards applied by the officials which required that an umpire must be five feet ten inches tall and weigh 170 pounds were not justified by claim that umpires must command respect of big men or by factors relating to increased size of professional catchers, physical strain, travel conditions and length of games, and that the standards were inherently discriminatory against women. The officials appealed.

In the Court of Appeals the State Division of Human Rights asserted that the finding of fact on which decisions of Commissioner were made were conclusive because supported by sufficient evidence on record considered as a whole, that the practical business policy doctrine was not properly invoked and that the Commissioner had jurisdiction to order officials to not rely on prior physical standards but rather to reformulate revised standards with respect to umpires hired to work in New York.

Order affirmed, with one bill of costs to respondents.

All concur except SCILEPPI and GIBSON, JJ., who dissent and vote to reverse on the dissenting opinion by Justice GABRIELLI at the Appellate Division.