Fitness-for-duty evaluations are a practical tool that can be used to either validate, or disprove, an employer’s contention that an employee may lack the physical and/or mental capacity to perform the essential functions of the job. Such an evaluation is of critical importance in the public-safety sector, particularly with law enforcement officers, because of their constant engagement with citizens, which is both highly visible and heavily scrutinized. While fitness-for-duty exams are a useful preventative measure that can reduce the employer’s exposure and provide a legitimate basis for removing unsuitable employees from the workforce, the benefits coexist with risks in light of 42 U.S.C. § § 12101-12213—the American’s with Disabilities Act, as amended (“ADA”).
This presentation will analyze the interplay between the right of the employer to require fitness-for-duty evaluations and the employer’s obligations under the ADA to refrain from disability discrimination, in the context of litigation.
