[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Click here for PDF Under the ADA, an employer’s ability to make disability-related inquiries or require medical or psychological examinations (aka “fitness for duty evaluations”) is analyzed in three different stages: Job Applicant: Pre-Job Offer Job Applicant: Post-Job Offer Current Employee The rules pertaining to such inquiries and examinations vary depending on the stage. …
Fitness for Duty Evaluations
Although employers are not required by law to maintain fitness for duty (“FFD”) policies, having one in place as part of an employee handbook can help employers keep a healthy workforce, set workplace standards, and manage employee expectations. FFD policies can be particularly important in certain work environments (such as hospitals, schools or transportation companies) …
Employee Considerations: Sample Fitness for Duty Policy Read More »
Click here for PDF A jury will decide whether a university’s decision to require a tenured professor to undergo a psychological fitness for duty evaluation was consistent with business necessity and job related according to an August 11, 2016 order out of the Northern District of California. Ellis v. San Francisco State University, Case No. …
Click here for PDF It cannot be overstated that preparing a narrowly tailored FFDE cover letter to the evaluating physician (or, similarly, a medical questionnaire to the employee) is crucial to reducing employer liability. In Scott v. Napolitano, a discharged employee brought an action against his former employer, the Federal Protective Service (“FPS”) of Los …
Click here for PDF As discussed extensively in the previous blog entry, an employer may not order a fitness for duty evaluation unless the inquiry into the employee’s potential medical or psychological condition is “job-related” and “consistent with business necessity.” A medical or psychological examination is “job-related and “consistent with business necessity” when an employer has …
Click here for PDF Under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA), an employer may require a medical exam or make a disability-related inquiry of an employee as long as the inquiry or exam is “job-related and consistent with business necessity.” The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) …
Click here for PDF There are a number of laws (state and federal) that govern employee Fitness for Duty Evaluations. There is no doubt that the application of the laws and the roles of the agencies that enforce those laws can at times be confusing. The following short summary clarifies the primary laws and agencies …
Employee Fitness for Duty Evaluations – Law & Government 101 Read More »
Click here for PDF Medical and psychological evaluations of employees, sometimes called “Fitness for Duty Evaluations,” may be required by employers to determine whether an employee is able to perform the essential job functions of his or her position. This article will provide you answers to 5 basic questions regarding Fitness for Duty Evaluations (“FFDEs”): …
The 5 W's of Employee Fitness for Duty Evaluations Read More »
