Total Articles: 5
Eleventh Circuit Finds that Job Applicant Need Not Be Disabled Under the ADA to Sue for Prohibited Pre-Offer Medical Inquiry.
Employers should be aware of a recent decision by the Eleventh Circuit (the federal appeals court with jurisdiction over Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) holding that a job applicant need not be "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") to sue an employer for making a prohibited, pre-offer medical inquiry. See Harrison v. Benchmark Elecs. Huntsville Inc. (11th Cir. 2010). In Harrison, the Eleventh Circuit reversed a trial court's decision in favor of the employer and held that the plaintiff should be permitted to take his ADA claim to trial.
Non-disabled individual can support claim of "improper medical inquiry" under the ADA.
The Americans with Disabilities Act makes it illegal for employers to discriminate against disabled individuals. To that end, the Act includes a provision that, prior to an actual offer of employment, an employer “shall not conduct a medical examination or make inquiries of a job applicant as to whether such applicant is an individual with a disability or as to the nature or severity of such disability.”
Courts Scrutinize Pre-Employment Strength Tests.
In an effort to reduce on-the-job injuries, many employers have implemented, or are considering implementing, pre-employment strength tests.
Ninth Circuit Finds Use of Hearing Test to Screen Driver Applicants Violates ADA.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held that United Parcel Service (UPS) violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by refusing to hire drivers who could not pass a hearing test. See Bates v. UPS (October 10, 2006). The Ninth Circuit’s decision affirms a lower court’s determination that the company violated the ADA and affirms the certification of a class action against UPS based on the ADA violation.
Use Of The "Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory" May Violate The ADA (pdf).
The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory
(“MMPI”) is a test that determines where a person falls
on scales measuring traits such as depression, paranoia
and mania. On June 14, 2005, the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit held that the MMPI is a medical
examination and that its use by an employer in making
personnel decisions violated the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Karraker et al. v. Rent-A-Center et al.,
No. 04-2881.
