Handout H

Testing the Applicant

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) has specific requirements for testing people with disabilities. This includes the obligation to provide a reasonable accommodation if needed, to assure that tests reflect an individual's ability to do a job rather than the effect of a disability. The ADA requires that employers test people with visual, hearing, speaking or manual impairments in ways that do not require the use of the impaired skill, unless the test is designed to measure that skill.

A job applicant has the responsibility, under the ADA, to request an alternative test format, but EEOC suggests that employers may wish to inform applicants in advance that a test will be given so that an applicant can notify the employer of any need for accommodation or different format. If an individual with a disability does not request an accommodation in advance, the employer may need to reschedule the test or provide another type of accommodation if the requested accommodation is not available at the time the test is administered.

If your company requires any kind of test and the applicant's disability doesn't interfere, give the test in the same way you would for any other candidate.

Blindness, motor impairment affecting the use of hands or eye/hand coordination, and learning disabilities can prevent an applicant from passing some tests even though he or she might have the ability to do the job. Rely instead on the applicant's work experience, training and education. Remember, when the applicant's impairment makes it impractical to complete a test, particularly one which is timed, the results may reflect the testing of the individual's impairment-related limitations instead of predicting the applicantąs abilities and potential success on the job.

You may take a number of steps to see if a test will be effective and appropriate. One way is to ask the applicant. Examples of questions to ask are:

Reading a test to an applicant who has a vision impairment or an applicant with a reading/learning disability is one way to measure abilities for jobs where reading skill is not necessary to perform the job. For example, many people with vision impairments successfully hold typing positions. To test a person with a visual impairment, typing tests are put on a dictating machine and then scored in the same way as would be done for any other applicant. If an applicant has a hearing impairment, be sure the candidate understands the instructions.

If the applicant has a learning disability, success or failure on the test could hinge solely on its instructions. They should be modified, if needed, so that people who can do the job are not screened out because the instructions are not clear to them. To accurately assess abilities, you may need to allow extra time for people who use readers or who have learning or writing disabilities to complete a test. Also, be sure that all test sites are physically accessible.

Persons who have recovered from mental illness might not be up to test pressure. An honest and open discussion regarding this matter will help you decide if the test is really needed. Any such discussion, however, must avoid pre-employment inquiries into an applicantąs disability.

Consult EEOC's regulation for further guidance on the ADA's requirements related to testing.

Handeling the Applications

Your company's regular procedures should be consistent with the ADA and you should follow them.
Note that the ADA prohibits any pre-employment inquires about disabilities
It is a good idea to have applications on hand in alternative formats such as large print or on computer disk
If the applicant's disability prevents him or her from filling our an application:
* offer assistance in filling out the application; or
* allow him/her to take it home, stating a specific time to return. (This action is a reasonable accommodation to your procedures.)

Testing the Applicant

Handeling the Applications

Interview