Good job descriptions are vital in keeping employers and employees on the same page, but they take on added importance when an employee with a disability needs help being productive. And for employers facing disability discrimination claims, job descriptions that clearly outline the essential and nonessential functions of the job can be crucial. 
Although the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) doesn’t require employers to have written job descriptions, they are practical, according to Mary Topliff, a San Francisco attorney specializing in employment law, counseling, training, and compliance. She gave employers tips on job descriptions during a recent Business & Legal Resources webinar and emphasized the importance of carefully considering how the ADA affects job descriptions.
Importance of essential functions
The ADA covers employers with at least 15 employees, and serves a twofold purpose related to employers, Topliff says. It prohibits employment discrimination and also requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees and applicants who are qualified individuals with a disability unless undue hardship to the employer would result.
Topliff cited a lawsuit in which a county road commission employee in Ohio accused his employer of violating the ADA. The employee, an excavator operator, lost a leg in a motorcycle accident. The employer then refused to allow him to continue operating the excavator because his disability prevented him from hauling the excavator to the job site. The employer claimed hauling the excavator was an essential function of the job even though it wasn’t included in the job description’s list of essential functions. The trial court sided with the employer, but the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision.
“The failure to identify this particular function as an essential function on the job description for this individual made a big difference in this case,” Topliff says. It didn’t mean the employer lost the case, but it meant the jury would have to determine whether it was an essential function. “It’s a really important and telling lesson about … how important it is to have written job descriptions that correctly identify what all the essential job functions are,” she says.
The process of writing job descriptions begins with gathering information and analyzing the job. Topliff suggests a fact-finding process that includes using interviews, questionnaires, and observations of employees doing the job. Visual aids also can be helpful in understanding a job well enough to write a proper job description. For example, a photo of a workstation or a video of employees performing the job can help the job description writer understand what accommodations might be reasonable if the need arises.
The job description also should identify any hazardous exposure disclosures required by safety laws, Topliff says. Environmental and safety conditions such as whether the job is performed inside or outside and what kind of ventilation is present also should be included.
In addition, Topliff says job descriptions should cover the results or outcomes the employer expects, mental and physical requirements, education and training, and any attendance or schedule requirements.
She cautions employers to make a distinction between requirements that are truly needed and those that are just a convenience. For example, an employer may want to require that an employee have a driver’s license, but if the job just requires the employee to be able to get to the job site, the license isn’t justified. If an employee or applicant makes a disability discrimination claim, the court will look at whether the employer was justified in making the requirement.
Employers also need to make job descriptions as professional and credible as possible. Sometimes no one bothers to prepare a written job description until after an employee or applicant makes a discrimination claim. A description written after the fact may not be completely useless, Topliff says, “but it’s going to be a lot more credible to say …, ‘Here’s our job description. We prepared it six months ago, and then this issue came up.’”
Tips for the process
Topliff offers a number of tips for writing strong job descriptions. Among them are:
- Use clear, easy-to-understand language and active verbs. A description the employee doesn’t understand defeats the purpose of having it, and active verbs enhance understanding.
- Avoid jargon that people outside the organization won’t understand. Medical providers need to understand what the job entails in order to suggest accommodations. Also, if a job description becomes part of a lawsuit, it needs to be clear for the court.
- Avoid a hodgepodge of formats and include revision dates. Having a consistent format used throughout the organization adds to understanding and credibility.
- Make sure essential job functions truly are essential.
- Have supervisors and employees verify that the description is accurate.
Want learn more? Listen to Writing ADA Compliant Job Descriptions: Essential Functions and Disability Discrimination on CD. Topliff walks listeners through the dos and don’ts of writing effective job descriptions and how to stay compliant with the ADA to avoid expensive legal entanglements. For more information, click here or call 800-274-6774.
Great tips on creating solid job descriptions! Thanks for sharing.