Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 in filling employment positions requires good communication between employers and potential employees and focus on two elements: essential job function and reasonable accommodation.

The Employment title of the ADA became effective July 26, 1992 and protects qualified individuals with disabilities from hiring discrimination. The law defines disabled persons as having physical or mental impairments that limits life function such as restricted ability to hear, see, speak, breathe, walk, perform manual tasks, learn, work or care for oneself. Temporary conditions such as broken bones do not qualify.

A qualified disabled individual meets all job requirements and can perform the essential function with or without reasonable accommodation, unless the accommodation creates an undue hardship for the employer. Employers have the right to hire the most qualified person, but must offer qualified disabled applicants equal opportunities to compete.

The ADA defines essential function by three factors:

• The function for which the job exists (i.e., typing requires typing skills)
• The number of other employees who can perform the function (i.e., delivering typing to other departments may be desirable, but not essential if others can do it)
• The degree of skill required to do the job (i.e., a computer programmer must write programs)

Employers may not refuse to hire employees who cannot perform non-essential functions. The ADA also protects the disabled during the application process. Employers must read or complete the application for the applicant if necessary, or accommodate special needs such as access to a tabletop for someone in a wheel chair.

A reasonable accommodation is an adjustment that allows a disabled person to work, such as acquiring or modifying schedules, assignments, examinations, training materials or policies; and providing readers or interpreters.

Measures that create undue hardship on an employer are exempt. Exclusions may be expensive, extensive, substantial, disruptive or alter business operations. Employers must seek alternatives to undue hardships and cannot refuse to hire a disabled person only because of the need for accommodation.

Questions about workers compensation history are prohibited at the present stage. An employer may ask about skills, years of experience or education and may test to assess performance.
 
Employers may extend conditional offers contingent upon satisfactory results of medical examination and history if the same conditions are imposed upon all employees in the same job category. Medical information discovered at the conditional offer stage must be kept in a confidential medical file separate from the employee’s personnel file.

If anyone is denied employment based upon the results of an exam or inquiry, the employer must prove the decision was job related, justified by business necessity or a disability was found for which no reasonable accommodation was available.

As one of the largest employers in the United States, Spherion^® is experienced in hiring practices, that include following ADA guidelines, recruiting, interviewing and placing the most qualified employees to meet or exceed a client’s needs. Employing more than 375,000 people each year, Spherion provides comprehensive human resources solutions.     

Need comprehensive human resource solutions? Let us help,  contact us today.