Newsletter

When can an employer make a disability – related inquiry or require a fitness for duty evaluation?

[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. …

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General Counsel Ashleigh Bhole to Speak at DMEC Southern California Chapter Meeting

California Medical Evaluators’ General Counsel, Ashleigh Bhole will be speaking at the Disability Management Employer Coalition’s Southern California (Long Beach) Chapter Meeting on October 5, 2016. She will discuss FEHA/ADA compliance with respect to medical and psychological fitness for duty evaluations.  Ashleigh will be joined by Rachel Shaw, Principal Consultant & President of SHAW HR …

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Employee Considerations: Sample Fitness for Duty Policy

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) …

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United States District Court

Northern District of California Says Jury to Decide Whether Psychological Exam Was Lawful

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. …

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Question

Employers Be Cautious When Drafting Your FFDE Cover Letters – Inquiries Must Be Narrowly Tailored

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 …

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Workplaces Warranting Lower Evidentiary Threshold for Finding an Employee to be a "Direct Threat"

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 …

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Avoiding ADA & FEHA Violations: Deciphering the Meaning of "Job-Related and Consistent with Business Necessity" in the Context of Fitness for Duty Evaluations

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) …

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Employee Fitness for Duty Evaluations – Law & Government 101

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 …

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The 5 W's of Employee Fitness for Duty Evaluations

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”): …

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