To make the workplace safe and effective, the employer needs to take several steps and in this one of the evaluations of employees called “Fitness for Duty Evaluations”. This will help employers to understand whether an employee can execute the essential job functions for the position he/she was hired. Today, in this article we are going to answer all the basic and in-depth about Fitness for Duty Evaluations through 5 W’s.
What? – Who? – When? – Why? and – Where?
Evaluating the right employee is not an easy job for any employer. You need a high-quality evaluation process to get the best outcomes and hiring professional pre and post-hire evaluation service is the best option you can go with. Whether it’s an employee compensation claim or safety measure, these several evaluation processes done by professional evaluation services will make your organization strong and efficient.
Fitness for Duty Evaluation (What)
Fitness for Duty Evaluations is a medical examination that every employer should require to undergo their current employee or a job applicant for a fitness evaluation to understand their ability to fulfill their requisite job role. It is done by a certified physician to check the mental condition or health of an employee. The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the California Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) have mentioned guidelines and restrictions that govern these evaluations.
Employee and Job Applicant (Who)
An employee may go through Fitness for Duty Evaluations when an employer feels that he/she has a medical or psychological condition that affects his ability to perform the job role,
A job applicant needs to go through a Fitness for Duty Evaluations process after he/she received a job offer letter from the employer. It is to be done before the employment begins.
Circumstances that may call for Fitness for Duty Evaluations (When)
- When an employer has a strong belief that an employee is unable to perform his/her job efficiently due to any medical or physiological condition.
- If an employer thinks that an employee’s medical or physiological condition may put the employee or other employees in danger.
- An employee is on leave due to illness and returns to work after the leave.
As such, there are no state or federal laws guidelines on when to conduct this evaluation process but many employers conduct it immediately after they hire the employee.
The goal of Fitness for Duty Evaluation (Why)
The mission or goal of the Fitness for Duty Evaluations process is to make sure that the employee is in good condition to perform his/her job role. The physician or doctor needs to provide detailed information of evaluation to the employer and also tell him about any restriction if needed. With this result in hand, employers will decide whether he/she has to perform the same job role or have to shift to any other department or position.
This evaluation process fulfills the goal of the employer to provide its employees safe and efficient premises to work in.
Certified Physician (Where)
An employer needs to always go for a licensed or certified physician to conduct the evaluation process as it plays a very important role in making the premise safe and secure. Make sure evaluation should take place where the employee is comfortable to travel or any place which is nearby for the employee to attend.
If the employee has to travel a long distance to get the evaluation done from specialists then-employer needs to pay the transportation expense to the employee.
Wrapping Up
To provide better premises to all the employees, employers must have to perform Fitness for Duty Evaluation before pre and post-hire procedures. We hope that these 5 w’s help you in understanding this evaluation process more reliably. Whether pre or post hire screen evaluations, make sure your employer hires a licensed physician to get the best advantages. The employer should follow proper Fitness for Duty Evaluation policies.
So, hiring a professional and certified physician will help you in keeping your organization or workplace safe and secure.
All the best!