IX. Job Descriptions

One of the most important things you can do to make sure you are in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is to review your job descriptions and make sure they are accurate.

A. What Goes Into a Job Description

1. Basic information
   
   a. Job title and code
   d. Date last updated
   b. Job classification
   e. Exempt/ non-exempt status
   c. Location/ address
   f. Department/ division

2. Description of basic (essential) functions/duties in terms of:
   
   a. Physical requirements
   d. Quality constraints
   b. Mental requirements
   e. Time constraints
   c. How often performed?

3. Description of sub-functions/duties
   
   a. Physical requirements
   c. How essential?
   b. Mental requirements
   d. How often performed?

4. Description of basic responsibilities

5. Equipment and job aids required to be operated/used

6. Other persons with whom the applicant must interact
   
   a. Level of interaction
   b. Methods of communication

7. Supervisory responsibilities

8. Who supervises the job?

9. Experience required

10. Skills required

11. Licenses/certificates required

12. Prerequisites (other jobs, education, training courses)

13. Who approved the job description?

14. Working condition requirements (e.g., hazardous waste, air conditioning status, air quality, noise level, etc.)

15. Safety and health considerations

16. What law/regulations apply?

B. Where to Start with Job Descriptions

1. Key jobs that most affect your operations.

2. Jobs where most applications occur:
   
   a. Entry level positions
   b. High turnover positions

Attempt to factor in possible job accommodations as you precede. The following are things to consider in developing job descriptions with possibility of filling jobs with persons with disabilities:

a. Use a menu of outputs to describe the position and be open to innovative ways to achieve them. This can point to potential job accommodations or auxiliary aids.

b. Use plain English, and make descriptions as simple and understandable as possible.

c. Describe the job culture, including key elements of the position and work environment.

d. Describe relationships in terms of:

• types of interactions;
• who the interactions are with;
• how they are accomplished.

e. Create "user-friendly" descriptions that are clear and accessible to everyone.

f. Assess the strengths of persons filling jobs

g. Be realistic about weaknesses

h. Discuss job description with applicant

i. Keep in mind that with some disabilities many jobs are possible

j. Creativity is high with persons with disabilities

C. Job Analysis

1. How often does the task take place?

2. How is the task performed ? What methods, techniques, or tools are used?

3. How much time does the task take? Does it consistently take this much time?

4. Why is the task performed?

5. Where is the task performed?

6. How do we measure whether the task was accomplished or not?

7. What happens if the task is done wrong?

8. What aptitudes (potential to learn and accomplish a skill) are necessary?

9. What general knowledge is necessary?

10. What skills are necessary?

11. How much physical exertion is needed (lifting, standing, sitting, etc.)

D. Determining Essential Functions

As you put these functions together, get the input of others within your organization who are familiar with the job. You may want to talk with other supervisors and even the worker in the position.

Using the functions you have determined essential, you need to compile a formal job description using the preceding guide.

1. "Essential Functions" as defined by the ADA:

1. The fundamental job duties of the employment position the individual with a disability holds or desires. The term "essential functions" does not include marginal functions of the position.

2. A job function may be considered essential for any of several reasons, including but not limited to the following:


(i) The reason the position exists is to perform the function;
(ii) Limited number of employees are available among whom the performance of that job function can be distributed; and/or
(iii) The function may be highly specialized so that the person is hired for their expertise or ability to perform the particular function.

3. Evidence of whether a particular function is essential includes, but is not limited to :


(i) The employer's judgment;
(ii) Written job descriptions prepared before advertising or interviewing applicants for the job;
(iii) The amount of time spent on the job in performing the functions;
(iv) The consequences of not requiring the incumbent to perform the functions;
(v) The work experience of past incumbents in the job; and/or
(vi) The current work experience of incumbents in similar jobs.

2. "Marginal Functions" is defined as:

• Any task that is considered to be a peripheral, incidental, or minimum part of the job.
• Tasks that can be easily transferred to another employee without hurting the employerıs business.

The ADA focuses on job performance and not marginal duties in determining what is an essential job function.

For example:
A federal court held that answering the telephone was not an essential function of a time-and-attendance clerk at the post office. They found that the clerk was responsible for tallying, documenting, and analyzing the hours that postal service employees worked. Therefore, it would be discrimination not to hire an otherwise qualified individual who is deaf or has a speech disability.

E. JOB ANALYSIS FORM

Agency_________ Position___________ Salary______ Reference________
1. Job Description (Attach additional sheets)
2. Physical Req'ments	Weight/Reach	% of Time	Adaptations	Remarks
Carrying	.	.	.	.
Cleaning	.	.	.	.
Climbing	.	.	.	.
Collating	.	.	.	.
Dialing	.	.	.	.
Driving	.	.	.	.
Filing	.	.	.	.
Hearing	.	.	.	.
Holding	.	.	.	.
Indexing	.	.	.	.
Inserting	.	.	.	.
Lifting	.	.	.	.
Maintaining	.	.	.	.
Opening	.	.	.	.
Pulling	.	.	.	.
Pushing	.	.	.	.
Removing	.	.	.	.
Scheduling	.	.	.	.
Sitting	.	.	.	.
Sorting	.	.	.	.
Speaking	.	.	.	.
Stamping	.	.	.	.
Standing	.	.	.	.
Stapling	.	.	.	.
Threading	.	.	.	.
Turning Pages	.	.	.	.
Typing	.	.	.	.
Unfolding	.	.	.	.
Unlocking	.	.	.	.
Using Keyword	.	.	.	.
Walking	.	.	.	.
Weighing	.	.	.	.
Writing	.	.	.	.
3. Cognitive	Requirements	Level/Type	Recommendations
Education	.	.	.
Math	.	.	.
Problem Solv'g	.	.	.
Reading	.	.	.
Reasoning	.	.	.
Training	.	.	.
4. Site Evaluation	Dimensions	Adaptations
Job Site
Desk	.	.
Door	.	.
Door Mechanism	.	.
Elevators	.	.
Entrance	.	.
File Cabinets	.	.
Floor Covering	.	.
Obstacles	.	.
Steps	.	.
Threshold	.	.
Bathroom
Door	.	.
Grab Bars	.	.
Sink	.	.
Toilet	.	.
Cafeteria
Accessibility	.	.
Parking	.	.
5. Comments: Operation of Equipment

_______________________________		__________________
Job Analyst				Date

Source: Job Development Bank and Enhanced Productivity for Severely Disabled Persons, K. Mallik and S. Yuspeh, 1979, G. Washington University Rehabilitation Research and Training Center, Washington, D.C., Grant #G008300123, NIDRR, Department of Education