What do you do with employees who have a history of injuries? Fire them and they may sue, but leave them on the job and they might harm themselves or others.
Now there’s a way for legally removing these people from the workplace.
Some companies conduct fitness for duty (FFD) evaluations in these situations. They’re similar to post-offer, pre-hire physical exams to determine ability to do the job. But FFDs can be done any time during employment and are broader: They determine physical, mental and emotional fitness.
A comprehensive FFD program would include:
- pre-placement medical evaluations, often done with safety-sensitive jobs
- absence management, including people who call in sick Mondays and Fridays and presenteeism, people not fully productive under stress from family issues or medication
- for-cause drug and alcohol testing, based on credible report of impairment, and
- pre-assignment clearance to new tasks or after leave due to injury or FMLA.
An FFD would withstand legal challenges if a company:
- administers it fairly across the board
- makes tests reasonable and job-related
- doesn’t make decisions on past health records, such as cancer history
- keeps test results confidential, and
- gives a disqualified employee the right to submit his or her own evidence as to fitness for duty.
For more information on FFD evaluations, click here.
Does your company use FFD evaluations? Let us know in the Comments Box below.