Concern about pre-employment physicals

[fireflymedic]

Has anyone here experienced difficulty with employment due a disclosure on a pre-employment physical of a medical condition/prior surgery/etc which they were cleared by their personal physician, but later denied the job due to this? At what point can an employer say "you're an employment risk" for something which may never cause a further problem? I ask this in relation to things such as back screenings. A lot of people have minor abnomalities in their backs which may never cause a problem, however, I know of several who were denied jobs with better services because of this, went on to work other places (though for not as good pay and benefits) retire out with no problems after 20 years of service. I ask this because of a situation I am currently encountering and without stating too much as to reveal this person's issue, I have some concern (for one of the first time's in my career) that they may not be adequately able to hold up to the demands of EMS work due to joint replacements. The person already is limited in some activities and with the nature of joint replacement limiting range of motion and possibly instability on very rough terrain such as with mountain rescues etc which are frequent in our area - how would you all handle the situation and moreover, what responsibility do I have to address this situation with the person and/or their physician? Thanks.

[DirtJerZ]

I dont think joint replacement is a good enough reason to not offer employment. As long as the person understands the job and his doctor clears him I don't see the problem. Thats could be a lawsuit under the American with Disabilities Act.

[spenac]

Actually certain types of injurys/illnesses/etc could preclude a person from qualifying for a job. A company has the legal right not to hire a person if they can not perform the duty of the job. Certain injurys/illnesses/etc could meet the reasonable expectation of not being able to do the job. This is a very touchy and for that matter a difficult legal issue are that you would really need a top notch labor law/ ADA/ lawyer to work with.

[Christopher.Collins]

I had recently applied to a commercial service in my area and they seemed interested in taking me in. Hell, I was willing to make a 1hr (one way) drive to work to get this job. Anyways I have worked with other companies before and have been in EMS for the past 5 years... I have no problem with lifting or anything related. Well occasionally going backwards up stairs sucks.

Anyways I passed the pre-employment physical with flying colors and thought I did fairly well on the lift test. Most of it was lifting weights into and out of two wooden boxes and lifting the boxes. Lifts totaled 50-200lbs. No problem. I had to lift some weights as well on a machine which was no problem at the end the physical therapist said "thats as close as we can to simulating a stretcher" in which I shot back "but its NOT a stretcher". But then there was a grip test where I had to clench my fists around some stupid gauge... which I failed.

So I get a letter a week later saying thanks but no thanks, you didnt meet our physical requirements. In which I responded (POLITLEY and proffesionally)... thanks, i drove 200 miles for nothing, the lift tests were not comparable by any means to the real job, my last job did in house lift testing with real equipment and EMS evaluators which i passed, ive been in ems with no problem for 5 years with extensive work with berriatric patients... etc.

I dont blame them for not hiring me... if I didnt meet their standards then I didnt plain and simple. But the lift tests were just not comparable by any means. A set of "average" numbers written on a card dosnt nessecarilly mean a damn thing... and thoes of us in this line of work know that.

[mrmeaner]

The person already is limited in some activities and with the nature of joint replacement limiting range of motion and possibly instability on very rough terrain such as with mountain rescues etc which are frequent in our area

I dont think joint replacement is a good enough reason to not offer employment. As long as the person understands the job and his doctor clears him I don't see the problem. Thats could be a lawsuit under the American with Disabilities Act.

If they can't do the job, joint replacement is a fine reason not to offer employment. Your first responsibility is to your patients, not to hire a subpar employee because of the Aw/DA.

Although we appreciate your application to our company, we have decided to hire another applicant. We will keep your application on file for six months and encourage you to notify us of any updates in your application. Thank you.

How hard is that? Easier than explaining to a patient with a back injury as a result of being dropped that you hired a person unfit for the job because you were afraid of litigation.

[zippyRN]

the appointing manager should never known what is on your Health screening, all the appointing manager should get is a yes / yes with adaptations / no decision from the occupational Health team

[boeingb13]

As far as past or present back issues, you have to look at how much companies,cities,counties,townships,etc.. are paying for insurance rates. And along with that you have to look at what they pay for each person who goes out on workers comp. They are going to cover their behinds as much as possible, and if you look at it their stopping a potential problem before it has a chance to start.