A motor carrier company in Indiana, Celadon Trucking Services, Inc., was sued by the EEOC for allegedly requiring applicants to submit to physical examinations, in violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act (“ADA”). See EEOC v. Celadon Trucking Services, Inc., Cause No. 1:12-cv-0275-SEB-TAB. The problem, according to the EEOC, is not that Celadon required applicants to undergo a pre-employment physical examination, but that it did so before giving the applicants a conditional offer of employment.
Under the ADA, employers are allowed to conduct pre-employment medical examinations of job applicants. However, the medical examination may only be required after an offer of employment has been made and prior to the commencement of the employment duties. Further, under the ADA, an employer is allowed to condition an offer of employment on the results of the physical examination only if the following conditions are satisfied:
• All entering employees are subjected to such an examination regardless of disability;
• Information obtained regarding the medical condition or history of the applicant is collected and maintained on separate forms and in separate medical files and is treated as a confidential medical record, subject to limited exceptions; and
• The results of such examination are used only in accordance the ADA.
Attorney Elizabeth A. Schmidt is an associate attorney with Alan C. Olson & Associates, S.C. If you have any questions about disability discrimination, please contact her at [email protected].
