Physical Ability Testing - Douglas A Swift

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Résumé :

A guide to implementing legally compliant physical ability testing (PAT) programs that prevent injuries, optimize performance, and ensure reasonable accommodations

In Physical Ability Testing: A Guide to Safe Job Placement, Accommodation, and Legal Compliance, a team of distinguished medical professionals delivers an expert discussion of the fundamentals of creating a PAT program. Explaining the perspectives of the employer, the authors detail the systematic steps in developing and administering legally valid, job-specific PATs and providing proper interactive accommodation reviews for new hires and incumbent employees.

The book covers testing policies and procedures that address methods to avoid discrimination and minimize disparate impact on protected classes such as individuals with disabilities, older adults, women (including those who are pregnant), and individuals affected by medical or behavioral health conditions such as substance use disorders or recent surgeries. It also provides critical information on defending test failure determinations based on the direct threat and undue hardship defenses.

Readers will find:

• A thorough introduction to the validation process best suited for a defensible PAT program
• Comprehensive explorations of PAT programs in a variety of industries
• Practical discussions of administering PATs, legal cases covering them, and published scientific literature related to work physiology
• Complete treatments of the validation processes used in ensuring PAT programs remain legally defensible

This book is perfect for human resource professionals, occupational physicians and nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, chiropractors, safety professionals, industrial hygienists, ergonomists, human factors specialists, and risk managers....

Biographie:

Richard W. Bunch, PT, PhD, CBES is a retired physical therapist and ergonomic specialist with a PhD in Human Neuroanatomy. He brings over 45 years of experience in physical ability testing, functional capacity evaluation, and ergonomics. He has held faculty appointments at LSU Medical Center and Tulane University School of Public Health, founded WorkSaver Employee Testing Systems, and developed the Certified Behavioral-Based Ergonomics Specialist (CBES) program.

Trevor D. Bardarson, PT, OCS, CBES is a Board Certified Orthopedic Physical Therapy Specialist, Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Spine Specialist, Certified Physical Ability/Functional Capacity Evaluator, and an Ergonomic Specialist with over 30 years of experience. He is the Owner/President of WorkSaver Employee Testing Systems LLC.

Douglas A. Swift, MD, MSPH, FACOEM is a Board-Certified Occupational Medicine Physician. He has over 40 years' experience in clinical occupational medicine and serves as an Associate Clinical Professor at Tulane University School of Public Health.

Horace A. Thompson III, JD is a labor attorney with over 40 years of courtroom experience as a lawyer and a judge....

Sommaire:

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xiii

1 Introduction to Physical Ability Testing 1

1.1 The Physical Ability Test 1

1.2 Impact of PATs on Safety 5

1.3 Qualifications to Perform a Physical Ability Test 5

1.4 Essential Job Functions - The Foundation of the PAT Program 5

1.5 Types of PATs 6

1.6 Contents of a Post-offer PAT 8

1.7 The Basic Design of the PAT Protocol 10

1.8 The Predictive Value of a PAT - Relation to Direct Threat Defense 10

1.9 Benefits of Physical Ability Testing 14

1.10 PAT vs Functional Capacity Evaluation 16

1.11 Validity of Effort During Functional Testing 16

2 Assessing Physical Ability to Work 21

2.1 Assessing the Gap Between Physical Ability and Work Demands 21

2.2 Employment Medical Examinations 23

2.3 Assessing Risk, Capacity, and Tolerance to Work 25

2.3.1 Assessing Work Risk 26

2.3.2 Assessing Work Capacity 26

2.3.3 Assessing Work Tolerance 27

2.4 Assessing Impact of Impairments and Disability on Work Ability 27

2.5 Lift Strength Capacity Tests 28

2.5.1 Isometric Lift Tests 29

2.5.2 Isokinetic Lift Tests 30

2.5.3 Dynamic Lift Tests 30

2.6 Cardiopulmonary Tests to Determine Work Fitness 30

2.7 Limitations of Medical Imaging for Assessing Physical Ability to Work 31

3 Avoiding Employment Discrimination 37

3.1 Employment Discrimination - Responsibilities of Employer and Evaluator 37

3.2 Discrimination Based on Disparate Impact of a PAT 38

3.3 PAT Compliance with Antidiscrimination Laws 38

3.4 Disparate Impact and the Four-fifths Rule 39

3.5 Discrimination Related to Disability - ADA and ADAAA 40

3.6 Discrimination Related to Drugs 42

3.7 Discrimination Related to Obesity 44

3.7.1 Addressing Obesity with PATs 45

3.8 Discrimination Related to Pregnancy 46

3.8.1 The Risks of Physical Ability Testing During Pregnancy 47

3.8.2 Recommended Lifting Limits During Uncomplicated Pregnancies 48

3.8.3 Lifting Thresholds for Pregnant Workers 49

3.8.4 Accommodating Pregnancy When Administering PATs 52

3.9 Discrimination Related to Age and Gender 54

3.9.1 Age-based Disparity 54

3.9.2 Gender-based Disparity 54

3.10 Discrimination Related to Hearing Disabilities 55

3.11 Discrimination Related to Visual Disabilities 56

3.12 Discrimination Related to Artificial Intelligence 58

3.12.1 How AI Technology Can Lead to Discrimination 58

3.12.2 Ai Compliance with Title VII 59

3.12.3 AI Compliance with ADA 59

4 Disability and Interactive Accommodation 67

4.1 Introduction 67

4.2 Accommodation Timing and Inquiries 68

4.3 Role of the PAT in Determining Accommodations 69

4.4 Initiating an Accommodation Review 70

4.5 Verifying a Covered Disability Under the ADA 71

4.6 When an Accommodation Request Is Reasonable 74

4.7 When an Accommodation Request Is Not Reasonable 75

4.8 Disclosing Information Regarding Accommodations 75

4.9 Choosing Accommodations - Employer vs Employee 76

4.10 Response Time to Provide Reasonable Accommodation 76

4.11 Reasonable Accommodations Related to the Hiring Process 76

4.12 Types of Accommodations Related to Performing Essential Job Functions 77

4.13 Accommodating Employees Covered by ADA and FMLA 79

4.14 Undue Hardship 80

4.15 Interactive Accommodation Review: Step-by-step Guide 80

5 Physical Demands Analysis 93

5.1 Introduction 93

5.2 Role of Ergonomics in Determining Essential Physical Demands 95

5.3 ...