Is your pre-hire/post offer employment test or physical compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA)?
If it’s not, you could be at risk for a hefty fine or lawsuit. Comply with the law and reduce your worker compensation costs with an Essential Function Job Analysis or Post Offer Employment Test design and validation.
Why would a business need an
Essential Function Job Analysis?
One major step in reducing recordable injuries is to make sure the workers hired are “right for the job”. In other words, can the new employee handle the physical demands of the job they will be assigned to? If they can’t, they will be at risk for a musculoskeletal injury that can result in lost productivity, a workers’ compensation claim, and increased costs. Now, how can you determine whether an applicant can meet the physical demands of the job in question?
Previously, employers sent potential employees to a company physician for a physical or perhaps they sent them to a therapist for a certain “performance test.” However, recent court cases have determined that if a performance test is not “job specific” or based on the actual job demands, it is not a legal post offer test and the employer is at risk for a discrimination lawsuit. In other words, denying someone a job based on a generic physical or the results of a physical test that is not based on the actual job’s job demands, violates the ADAAA and the company is at risk for EEOC fines or a potential discrimination lawsuit.
This is where the Essential Function Job Analysis comes in. With this service, we will evaluate a job and determine the physical requirements of the job. We will then incorporate them into an ADAAA compliant job description. From this information, a
post offer employment test (POET) will be developed and then validated by testing it on the incumbent employees to make sure the test simulates their actual jobs. This will result in a legal and validated post offer employment test/physical that will stand up to court scrutiny.
Why Us?
With today’s worker compensation costs, screening out just one employee who would be at risk for an injury and become a recordable OSHA incident, would save significant amounts of money compared to the cost of this service.
There are a few other facilities that can offer this service. However, our Matheson trained evaluator conducts the service in the most reliable way, by measuring the job demands on site, not using a word of mouth or interview process only, which will result in a more defensible case if needed. Our software was developed by those on the cutting edge of the employment testing world to present a defensible ADAAA compliant document.
Mike A. Torres, PT, DPT, CWCE Doctor of Physical Therapy
2005 Graduate of Texas Tech Health Science Center
Masters of Physical Therapy Program
2007 Graduate of Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Certified Work Capacity Evaluator (Matheson) Eastside Rehabilitation Medicine & Pain Clinic
10412 Vista Del Sol 2B
El Paso, TX 79925
915-591-3609