2015-583-E HR - Job Ready Services workplace fitness for duty and functional capacity testing

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DocuSign Envelope ID:6E9B5308-6677-4F2E-9268-29D6E1A4FD76 Physical Fitness and.Agility Testing for Existing, Uninjured W E TI L In accordance with EEOC Enforcement Guidelines, employers may not require "medical exams or inquiries" for existing employees unless such exams are "job related and consistent with business necessity", or in certain instances if the employment position directly impacts public health and safety. However, "physical fitness and physical agility tests" are not considered medical exams and it is permissible for an employer to require annual physical fitness and agility tests that focus on job related physical performance parameters.Baseline musculoskeletal evaluations are not performed in such tests. e Post employment physical fitness and agility tests of existing, uninjured employees.are a dministered to determine.an employee's ability to continue to successfully perforin the essential functions of their jobs. Physical fitness and agility tests should be customized to look at essential motion, strength, and job specific capabilities required to perform the essential functions of the job. Again, routine medical measurements and tests may not be performed in this test protocol, However, if a job related functional deficit is identified, testing may be expanded to include medical measures of the affected area for the sole purpose of determin=ing whether or not the employee can safely perform the essential functions of their specific job and/or to devise a positive intervention strategy to insure their continued safety in doing so. ° does not give a "Not Capable"-result for post- employment WorkSTEPS software version of the g p p The newest v. employment physical fitness and agility tests. The provider should always know to enter their comments regarding wellness intervention strategies, work conditioning,, recommended modifications, accommodations and/or expected follow up in the Employer Notes section of the WorkSTEPS° test booklet, and to. contact the employer to discuss the fact that any deficits identified should not mean "termination." Testing Existing Workers upon Transfer: The EEOC defines a very narrow scope of medical information that may be collected when assessing an existing, uninjured employee regarding the performance of their CURRENT job. However, it expressly ALLOWS medical inquiries and medical tests to be performed to existing employees who are moving to a different job classification in the same company. The "EEOC Enforcement Guidance: Disability-Related Inquiries and Medical Exanunations of Employees under the..ADA" states that an employer should treat an employee who applies for a new position as a job applicant. Once an offer of employment is made to that individual, the employer may "ask the individual disability-related questions or require a medical examination as long as it does so for all entering employees in the same job .category". The full, post-offer comprehensive test may be administered at this post offer stage. Examples given by the EEOC in which the employee may not,be tested as a '!'post offer candidate" when transferring positions are as follows: 1. The individual is noncompetitively entitled to the other position, because of seniority or satisfactory performance in the current position, 2. The individual is changing positions temporarily, but will be returning to their regular job. Although it is not specifically addressed in the Guidance, WorkSTEPS recommends that the employer refrain from hiring someone into the transferring employee's previous position until it has been determined that the employee can successfully meet the demands of the newly offered position. If the current employee did not meet the demands of the new position, the offer could be withdrawn, and the employee could be returned to their formex position without penalty or termination. This infonnation is intended strictly for educational purposes for WbrkSTEPS providers.This should not be considered legal advice,and the employer should consult counsel of their own choosing to determine how this iiifornaation applies to individual circumstances.