The hiring process is one of the most difficult challenges for employers. It’s hard enough to evaluate a candidate’s abilities and motivation much less whether the person can physically perform the job. Thanks to post-job offer screenings, the physical evaluation has gotten much easier.
Under the law, employers are not allowed to administer any type of health or physical test before the prospective employee is offered a job. However, once an offer is made, employers have a right to submit the applicant to a post-offer screening to determine whether an individual can physically perform the job they were hired to do. The last thing anyone wants is to place an employee in an environment in which they are physically stressed.
Post-job offer screenings comply with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act so long as the test meets the critical demands of the job. In addition to testing physical capabilities, an employer may also require a medical examination, but it must be job-related and consistent with business necessity, a direct measure of an individual’s ability to perform the legitimate essential functions of a job. Rob Worley, a partner in the Labor and Employment Section of Jones Walker, stresses the importance of following the disability discrimination law each step of the way. According to Worley, "an employer must not reject an applicant based on a physical or mental impairment detected during the post-offer examination if such impairment would not prevent the applicant from performing the essential functions of the job, with or without reasonable accommodation."
At Crescent City Physical Therapy in New Orleans, we offer our employer clients the use of post-job offer screenings as a way to increase safety on the job. The test we administer is designed to match key functions of the job and includes a complete physical evaluation, testing strength, range of motion and other relevant criteria. Not only does it evaluate whether an employee can perform a particular function, it also provides a baseline from which to measure in the future.
Our test involves taking the applicant’s history, evaluating posture, and observing test movements to evaluate flexibility and strength. We test neurological signs and perform a functional evaluation involving lifting, job specific testing, and dynamometer tests to compare the applicant’s results to the norm. We collect over 30 pieces of objective information related to an individual’s status prior to employment. We are able to determine whether the applicant meets the critical demands of the job as well as other health information that will be available if the employee then suffers an injury on the job. The post-offer information provides a useful baseline. This alleviates speculation and dramatically increases an employer’s ability to determine the seriousness of the injury. This information has proven beneficial in reducing the dollar amount of court settlements to what is truly warranted.
Universal Compression, Inc., who recently acquired Technical Compression Services of Belle Chasse, Louisiana, submits all of its 160 employees to post-job offer tests. The company specializes in the repair of offshore engines, compressors and turbines and the heavy industrial nature of the business requires strict attention to safety policies. The post-job offer screening is part of their well-rounded safety plan. To date, Universal Compression and its predecessor TCS Industries has gone five years without a lost time injury and a full year without a recordable incident.
According to OSHA, approximately 6.3 of every 100 workers experience a job-related injury or illness. Post job-offer screenings are a good deterrent and appropriate for employees of all types. And the results are a ringing endorsement for the use of post-job offer screenings: better safety records and fewer injuries.
Virginia “Gini” Davis is a licensed Physical Therapist and owner of Crescent City Physical Therapy with 3 locations in the New Orleans area: Uptown, Metairie, and Hammond.
