The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has the most far-reaching impact on the U.S. workplace since the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yet many Americans are confused about the meaning of key terms used in the Act. This article unravels the confusion about the term 'qualified' and distinguishes between essential and marginal job functions.
A qualified person with a disability is defined as: an individual who -- with or without reasonable accommodation -- can perform the essential functions of the job.
We discuss reasonable accommodation in some depth in our article on that term. Here we examine essential...
Essential job functions are:
- The reason a job exists
- Required by the employer [This must be a justifiable requirement, not arbitrary.]
- Performed frequently ... or even if not performed frequently:
- Significant consequences would result if not performed, or
- Is a specialized skill needed for the job, e.g., a police officer's use of a weapon.
Marginal (non-essential) job functions are:
- Not performed frequently, or
- Can be performed by other qualified personnel already on staff (without significantly impacting their ability to perform their own essential job functions), or
- Will have no significant consequences if not performed.
For example, Casey Martin is a former NCAA golf champion with a disability requiring a golf cart to get around the course. That was OK with the NCAA, but not with the PGA Tour ... until a controversial ADA-based court ruling (upheld by the Supreme Court in 2001).
Is walking an essential or marginal function in professional golf? It is performed frequently by professional golfers, but:
- Is it the reason for golf?
- Is it a specialized skill?
- What significant consequences would result if not performed?
Those who follow this sport tell us that there is a consequence. It relates to the fatigue incurred by walking the course. Whether it's a significant consequence is open to debate. And, of course, Casey experiences a disproportionate fatigue just by standing and by walking from the cart path to the ball.
Whatever one's personal take on this controversy, the Supreme Court has determined that significant consequences would not result if Casey uses a golf cart instead of walking.
Application
- Visualize your own job or a typical job that you supervise.
- What are the essential functions of that job? [Hint: They probably include those tasks for which employees in that job received training or special education.]
- What are the marginal functions of that job? [Hint: Think about some of the routine tasks or errands that really anyone could do.]
The Grimmes conduct customized onsite training workshops and large group presentations for organizations in every sector of the economy. Their groundbreaking book on managing people in today's workplace will be published by AMACOM in the second half of 2008. Visit their main website at http://www.GHR-Training.com and topic-specific http://www.Employee-Retention-HQ.com ... and read issues of their own e-newsletter at http://www.WorkplacePeopleSolutions.com
Source: www.isnare.com
