CriminalData

Archive for December, 2008

Acceptable Interview Questions to Ask a Disabled Person Under ADA Regulations

Tuesday, December 9th, 2008

An employer is not allowed to ask questions related to disability or use medical examinations until after a job offer is made. Application and interview questions should be focused on non-medical job qualifications, employment history, and education. It is also acceptable to ask if the applicant can meet the job’s essential duties and requirements.  An employer is allowed to ask if a person with a disability will need a reasonable accommodation to do the job in question.

Questions You May Not Ask

You may ask how much time an applicant took off in a previous job (but not the reasons), why they left a previous job, and any past discipline. You cannot ask about their impairment or how they became disabled, about their use of medication, or about any prior worker compensation history.

Before You Place an Ad to Hire an Employee, Do Some Advance Planning

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

One sure way to build a great workforce is planning. As your business grows, or even if you already have a large company and want to improve your processes, there are steps you should take before you even place the ad for a new hire.

Determine Need

The first step is to clearly determine the need for a new or replacement position. Determine if the work can be accomplished another way through improved processes, workload distribution, eliminating redundant or out of date procedures.

Plan the Hire

Once the decision to hire is made, conduct planning meetings with any other current staff that will be involved working with the newly hired position. Develop the list of the key requirements of the job, as well as other desired traits for the new employee. From that information, develop or rewrite the job description and a pay range. Make a final determination of the affordability to your company of hiring a new employee at this time.

Post-Job Offer Questions and Examinations Under ADA Regulations

Tuesday, December 2nd, 2008

After an employer has made an offer to a person with a disability, questions relating to the disability may be asked. It is also acceptable to conduct medical examinations, as long as you do the same for everybody in the same job category. If it becomes clear that a person with a disability cannot do the essential job functions, or would pose a significant threat of harm to the safety or health of himself or others, you may withdraw a job offer. Be sure to consider if there are any reasonable accommodation that would enable the disabled person to perform the duties of the job.